Mirrored eyes
by Panda Warrior
Summary: When a demon beast comes, Meta Knight has to deal with it, along with something he never wanted to be reminded of again-his past. Soon Meta Knight can't even tell right from wrong, having fallen victim to the 'Beast of Mirrors'.
1. The trouble starts

**I hope you take the time to read my story and enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Meta Knight, Kirby, King Dedede or any other Kirby Franchise.  
**

Kirby was playing with Bun(or Tuff if you know him that way) and the other kids when he noticed the sky darken and lighten in a pulsing pattern. Confused, he took a step towards it before getting hit with the soccer ball.

"poyo?"

"Sorry Kirby, we thought you would dodge..." Bun trailed off, the way he always did when his sister Fumu (or tiff) glared at him.

In the distance they heard the distinct clang of swords hitting each other. Three armored knights were training again.

LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE

"_huff,huff I'll Get You!"_ Blade knight practically shouted. Putting all his weight on his sword did not stop his opponent like it should've, In fact Meta Knight didn't seem tired at all.

"You Need more training, Blade." swiftly Meta Knight disarmed Blade and had the tip of galaxia pinned on Blades chest.

"let's call it a day, You two can barely stand, let alone fight anymore."

Sword and Blade nodded grimly. If they could beat Meta Knight he would tell them more about being a Galaxy warrior. They watched as his eyes changed from yellow to green, he was thinking again. Without warning he turned and started running towards the castle, towards DeDeDe's throne room. the Remaining knight's looked at each other before taking off after their master. He was stationed at the door, listening through the Crack in the door. Wondering what Demon Beast the lazy king would order today.

"ah yes, but if you just payed your bill, maybe the Demon would arrive sooner...?" Costumer Service implied.

" I don't need to pay my bill, I just need a demon beast PRONTO!"

"I don't think that would be possible, Your Majesty." He cooly replied.

"I only need the one! Didn't you say it mirrors people?"

"Heh. Yes I did, It'll be there shortly. Now the price comes to 700,000 Deden."

"SOLD!"

the high tech delivery system came into view and started flashing. once the lights cleared, you could see a bottle of pills and a mirror.

"Please treat It to the best of cares, if those pills are crushed and eaten by the wrong person there's where your beast went."

"yeah yeah yeah." DeDeDe hit the switch and everything disappeared. This wouldn't be good and Meta Knight knew it. He'd never heard of a mirror Beast.

**Please make note that once I have all my ideas down I WILL go back and edit these chapters**


	2. Dark lightning

Yes he was right, it wasn't going to be good at all. Meta looked out his window at the storm that was brewing. The lightning... Something was off about it. It would darken and lighten rythematically. It was dark out, he should probably get to bed soon. Light snoring and mumbling brought him out of his thoughts.

"_Hi-Ya! I...got...you" _sword knight sleep mumbled. Despite his best wishes, Meta Knight smiled faintly beneath his mask. They deserved a good night's sleep. He again turned towards the window and sighed. He wouldn't be able to take flight tonight, nor would he be able to go and see Kabu. The heavy shoulder pads clinked as he headed into the corridors to start making his rounds. He didn't usually bother wrapping his cape around himself during these times, no one would be awake. He had it wrapped around him to hide the many scars that riddled his small body. He didn't wish to make people worry unnecessarily. What was the Mirror Beast anyways? He briefly wondered what it's strengths and weaknesses it had before being altered by Nightmare as he had been. He also wondered where the strange pre-beast thing had gone. After all, if it was altered by Nightmare it would need something to guide it, to turn it, to make it do Nightmares bidding.

His thinking was again cut short as he heard rustling behind him. He put his hand on Galaxia's hilt and spun around, waiting.

"Who goes there?" he spat out, hissing slightly. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with the over weight king and his pet slug right now.

"Sir Meta Knight! Something terrible has happened, Kirby's terribly injured and the other Knights are nowhere to be found! Please help us!" It was Bun(tuff), and he was shaking slightly.

"Where is Kirby, Bun?" Meta Knight asked calmly, yet sternly.

"B-by the b-beach..." there was a slight tremor in his voice that both concerned Meta Knight and made him extremely wary. He brushed it off simply as himself being paranoid.

"Show me." Bun began running towards the village and Meta Knight mentally groaned, he _hated_ going to PuPu Village. They passed Kawasaki's restaurant, the police station, and finally the Mayor's house.

The Cappies just stared in shock and surprise as they passed. Meta Knight rarely passed through town so why was he now?

"Bun, Where's Fumu?"

"I-I don't know sir... I thought she was reading."

"very well." This day was getting more and more troublesome by the minute. The Pills! They must've been a motive to transfer the demon beast without harm to the penguin king! Then who did the Mirror Demon transform into?

Meta Knight ended up getting there before Bun and found Kirby, near shadows. Kirby's eyes were closed and he was breathing shallowly. Meta Knight winced slightly as he stirpped long pieces of cloth from his cape and used them to bandage Kirby up. The young star warrior's eyes snapped open, it wasn't right. Eyes shouldn't glow like that, Eyes of a young child shouldn't be so-so _**Blood thirsty.**_

LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE

Nightmare grinned an evil smile. This was going well, He'd never thought the 'King' would actually order their second strongest demon beast. This should make their experiment's life a living (excuse the language) hell. He looked at the people situated on a chess table. _'Useful Puppets they are... My creation watch as your world slowly crumbles around you. Soon the Beast of Mirror will affect you too, until then I'll be waiting.' _It would show the Knight his true power. One of the people on the table stirred before snapping awake completely.

"HE WOULD NEVER TURN BACK TO YOU!" Blade Knight shouted at Nightmare.

"_heheheheh... Just you wait... Just you wait."_


	3. Fighting Darkness

**Thank you, sparklespepper, for being my first reviewer ever, and giving me encouragement to continue writing this story. Now I was a bad author and didn't come up with a plot period, and I have no idea how to get this story back on track. That's okay though because we'll see where the heck this story ends up taking us. Thanks for staying with my first story, to all who read it.**

**LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE LINE-80**

Kirby's eyes stared at Meta Knight, stared into his soul. The blood red eyes that were normally blue wanted him, wanted his blood. His cape torn and ragged was now slightly more than useless. He couldn't fly away, and he knew he would barely be able to use the dimensional properties of it to teleport to another location. Kirby's mouth slowly turned into one of a smile, A demon's smile. Had Nightmare managed to turn him into a demon beast? Or was the person before him the Mirror Beast?

He had no time to ponder this as both Kirby and the shadows around him attacked in a fury of barrages. Meta Knight did his best to parry and dodge without hurting Kirby. The darkness swept over him and looked for his weak point, the thing that would put the battle in it's favor. His wings. While not out right now, he could still feel the phantom pain, and the real pain from them being shredded.

Kirby, one who was once so innocent, controlled the darkness and attacked Bun. Forcing Meta Knight to once again endanger his self to protect those around him. He blocked a particularly nasty attack and Kirby chuckled evily. He formed the Shadows into a deadly sword and began attacking with a fury of someone who enjoyed killing. He slashed at Meta Knight and rolled behind him, towards Bun. He turned the sharp blade towards the defenseless Child.

"K-Kirby, I'm your friend- no need for that, right?" Bun slowly backed away.

Kirby just grinned that blood thirst grin before approaching Bun. Meta Knight mentally cursed, and just as Kirby swiped his sword, dove in front of Bun. Although he tried to block,he ended up taking the full brunt of the attack.

Kirby looked at the bloody sword before licking the blood off of it. He seemed to savor the taste before he walked over to the knight and started repeatedly slashing at his cape. He took more and more blood, and with the darkness pinning Meta Knight down, he couldn't do anything about it.

"_Use **That **attack, or have you forgotten already?"_

Growling slightly at the familiar voice, Meta concentrated focusing his energy into his core. He willed his body to grow his torn wings. His masked eyes glinted red for a split second before Meta used the darkness gathered and controlled the controller. Kirby was forced to drop the darkness around Meta.

"Good. Now who are you, and why are you posing as Kirby?"

"_**You don't need to know that, I'm just a messenger. The Controller of night wishes to make a deal-"**_

he stopped abruptly as the sun began crawling up the western side of the sky. 'Kirby' hissed in pain before sizzling out. Meta Knight groaned and looked at his battered body and torn wings, he needed to be patched up, desperately. He looked around himself before coming to a startling conclusion. Bun was

nowhere to be found. He was gone.

He sighed and picked up the strips of cloth that lined the beach. His wings turned back into the Dimensional Cape, and Meta began feeling the full brunt of the attack he'd used. The sky went pitch black as Meta Knight fainted from blood loss.

To say the least, His dreams were confusing. He saw pieces of his past. The rocky hideout that was for the Galaxy Soldier Army (star warriors). He remembered running from Wolfwrath (Chilidog) and having to protect the refuges now known as Sword and Blade Knight. He remembered them swearing loyalty to him. He saw Kirby being prepared to take flight. He remembered being ordered to kill Jecra. He remembered Garlude sacrificing herself for the completion of the mission, Rescue Galaxia.

Most of all he remembered what he preferred to call his 'Dark Days'. All the pain, torture, and so much blood. He saw the face of Nightmare, smiling, cackling.

Something wasn't right. Shouldn't he be dead by blood loss by now? Why was he still alive and breathing? Something within him told him it would be alright, he would be okay. He decided it might be best to listen to his instincts. If he'd been captured by Nightmare, he'd want him alive for torture and interrogation.

"You can't fool me Meta Knight, I know you're awake. Go ahead and sleep though, you were scraped up pretty bad. And no, Your mask is in fact still on." It was that voice again... one that sounded vaguely familiar.

(far far away in another galaxy)

"_what do you mean 'you failed'? You worthless piece of nothing!" _Nightmare Shouted.

"Your Majesty, You will have him eventually. The Mirror is starting to work, Just you wait." Customer Service (the guy who gives very rude comments to Dedede and who sells him Demon beasts) Assured.

"_Quiet. The army still has him under their dwindling protection, until that disappears we can't do anything."_

"But Sire, the Galaxy Soldier army died out eons ago... Surely there weren't any MORE survivors?"

"_Yes there was. They've been staying under the radars and they have been reproducing." Nightmare growled._

"Can't you just find their hideout and wipe them out like last time?"

"_No. They've gotten smarter. Let's just see when our favorite demon comes back to us."_

"As you wish, Captain. What should we do with the others?"

"_Keep them, we can use them as bait."_

Two people in the room looked at each other. Sir Meta Knight was stronger than that, he'd find a way.

"Sword, Blade, I'm Scared..." He trailed off, not wanting their captors to see or hear him for that matter.

"You'll make it, Sir Meta Knight will come." Blade said.

" Bun We're all scared, but we'll pull through." Sword reassuringly stated.

"T-thanks..." Bun (tuff) sniffled.

**Well what do you think? Constructive Criticism is allowed, I won't break into tears. PLEASE REVIEW! You have no idea how happy they make me feel...**

**Oh my- I have Over 1000 words written this time, I'm so proud of myself!**


	4. A Mirrored dream

**For everyone whose read my story- I can not guarantee instant updates as I can become very busy. Now I thank you for reading my story. I'm Going to use mostly Japanese references when talking about the Anime, BECAUSE I tend to watch anime in English subbed (which is where the speaking is done in Japanese and the English runs along the bottom for you to read.)**

**(cracks knuckles) Now let's get started.**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

_Colors. That was the first thing he saw. They were all floating around, never stopping, never slowing down. The rapid motions of them started to give him a headache. Truth be told, it was starting to unnerve him, the cool collected knight was wary of colors. Pathetic. They turned darker, blending with each other, before beginning to pulse. It was strange and confusing, he just wished it would end soon. He heard a deep laugh, something that seemed to go on forever._

"_So shall be...So shall be." that strangely familiar voice answered._

_Meta Knight found himself being lurched out of the blinding colors, and into a clearing. A dark foggy clearing he knew well. For a time it had been his favorite spot, The place he would go to train. A tall, ,purple skinned knight that was wearing a mask that parted his hair and covered his face was someone Meta Knight knew well. Jecra stood in the middle of the field, as if he was waiting expecting someone or something. After about five minutes of this he swiftly turned on his heel,as if there was some unseen signal and walked through a maze of sorts. He took many twists and turns, never letting his guard down, until he was in front of a patch of grass that looked well treaded upon. _

_Using the oval-shaped necklace Jecra wore at all times he bent down and held it in front of the grass. Meta Knight noticed he looked slightly agitated, and worried. After two minutes of waiting the grass began to shimmer, it looked like the ocean waves finally calming down after a storm. Still agitated he jumped down the hole that had appeared in the ground, not even bothering to use the cold, metal ladder near the entrance. His brisk, yet seemingly calm strides led him to a command room of sorts._

_He calmly waited outside, crossing his arms as he did so. Meta Knight could only imagine the deep frown that would be on his friends face. Meta Knight watched as Jecra looked at the clock positioned just down the hall and started to tap his foot. His gloves,as Meta just realized, had fresh blood on them staining the strong fabric a shade of red that had not been seen by the eyes of the star warrior in many years. The door opened and it seemed that the black smith walked away from the room, looking slightly put out. Jecra hesitated a minute or so before shrugging slightly and stalking into the room._

"_You called?" If anything the walls looked darker than when he'd entered the room. The short round species of star warrior that sat at the desk could only be identified as Sir Arthur, the commander of the Warriors. If you could read the expression he was giving by his posture, you could tell something was bothering him._

"_Jecra," he began slowly, as Jecra had his arms crossed over his chest," We found another young one... he was saying something about prisoners before a demon dealt with him. I was wondering if you would so kindly investiga-"_

"_No."_

"_What?"  
_

"_I said no. I am not going to go see more hopeless kids that can't even be trained in the arts they're so weak. If this is all you called me down for, I think I'll be leaving."_

"_Wait, Jecra. You're right, that wasn't all I called you down here for. Kneel down." Jecra looked down at the floor, muttering something about germophobia. Sir Arthur's hand tightened at the hilt (handle) of his sword before Jecra got down on his knees and kneeled before the commander._

"_You, Jecra Nayru Are hereby dubbed Silver Knight of the Galaxy Star Army Special Forces." Meta Knight watched as Sir Arthur placed his sword on Jecra's shoulders as he said the words. He watched as Jecra seemed to forget about his 'germophobia', and stood up straighter than before. To be dubbed as a Silver Knight was quite an honor, and meant you received high respect. It also meant you were assigned harder risk missions that were most likely critical to be completed._

"_T-thank you, Sir." now his fist was closed over his heart and he bowed slightly, the salute of respect which was common among warriors to do to their superiors. _

"_no need for that, Jecra. Now I believe you should get some rest, it's been a long two years without you." Jecra just nodded before heading out the door, he was following the luscious aroma of properly cooked food, Meta Knight guessed. Meta Knight was about to force himself to wake up when something caught his eye. A running warrior, who seemed to be heading towards the Apprentice's dorm. He kept shooting glances over his shoulder, as if he could see Meta Knight. He paused before turning the handle to his dorm, after making sure his room mates weren't there he leapt into the room, grabbing a book as he did. He flipped through the numerous pages before beginning to read aloud._

"_**When an evil being who was the embodiment of chaos and destruction died, his power was transferred into the next person who would rule a world with chaos and destruction. For unknown reasons the person who now ruled over Chaos and Destruction would come to be known as Nightmare. He would create monsters that would tear the world apart, he would strike fear into his opponents just by uttering his name, He would destroy those who opposed him, smiling all the while. One day he'll be infuriated by the fierce attacks of the Star Galaxy Army, and decide to use another Star Warrior to create his own Warrior, one that would take them down by the inside. **_

_**One thing he didn't expect was that his 'creation' had developed its own soul, its own morals and values. Eventually, though the 'creation' didn't know, he made a decision that ultimately weakened the Emperor of Darkness. This decision made Nightmare swear to have his revenge once and for all. He'd make the ultimate Demon to destroy any one and any thing that stood in his way. This Demon beast was soon known as the 'nightmare of all creation.' as no true name has been given that's the only name his foes can assume it has. What about the embodiment of creation you may ask? He was absorbed by Nightmare, never to be seen again." **The young Apprentice yawned, his eyes having water at the corner of them. _

"_man, I don't even know why the commander and Jecra want me to memorize it, they won't even let me out of this stingy place! I can fight, I do it well too...Oh well, I'm tired."_

_Meta Knight heard that strange chuckle somewhere behind him. Grasping his sword he spun around, locking his golden orbs with the pink of the intruder that was within piercing distance. The intruder looked like a fellow knight of the Galaxy Star Army, he had a mask that was made of the same material as the ones in the Star Army, and his stance was one favored by assassins in the army as well. His mask had a vertical and horizontal slit that looked similar to an 'X'. It wouldn't surprise Meta Knight if the horns protruding out of the top of the mask were real, he'd seen stranger. The figure wielded a pink lance and a shield with that same 'X' pattern, his metal shoes seemed lighter than most in the army, but still pretty heavy. The angelic wings were folded calmly at the back of his round, dark pink body. The pink crescent shaped eyes stared back at him, unwavering._

"_Who are you?" Meta hissed, accenting on the 'who'._

"_Relax, friend. I'm just remembering how foolish I was back then. If you must know, my name is Galactic Knight, of Galaxy ranking." he had the strange yet familiar voice of the person who'd told him to go back to bed, that same exact voice._

"_Why are you inside my dream?"_

"_I believe this is a shared dream. I have no idea how I managed to 'get inside your dream' as you put it, actually the last thing I remember was being sealed away for the safety of others. In truth my superiors sealed me away to protect those around me, For fear my power was too great and that Nightmare would get a hold of it. I have no more to say to you right now, you need to rest. Next time I'm summoned by you I'll explain things." he stated._

_His wings unfurled and he left in a spark of white, using a technique every warrior was taught. You weren't supposed to use it much, as it could be potentially life threatening. Just then, Jecra stepped into the room, calling for 'Mr. No Name' apparently the past version of the strange Galactic Knight needed to receive a name, much like what had happened with Meta Knight._

_Meta Knight watched as the two joked around, and was surprised when tears pricked his own eyes. He realized that he missed Jecra, and Garlude. The guilt of being responsible for one's death, and wielding the cause of the others Meta Knight nearly lost it, he almost cracked. He missed his early days, he missed his friends, and most of all he missed the freedom of being able to joke around, not having a care in the world._

_The edges of his vision began to cloud over and he fell back into it gratefully, welcoming the familiar feel. _

_%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%_

"_**He's Getting more and more accepting to the darkness, this was more successful than I thought it would be, Good job Costumer Service."**_

"Yes I thought it it work out that way!" C.S. Replied, cheerily.

Over with the Knights, Bun, and Kirby.

"I hope Meta Knight will be okay..." Blade murmured.

"Don't worry, Bun We'll be fine, no you'll be fine because you're strong and you're young."Sword whispered reassuringly.

"Poyo-piyo?" Kirby asked.

"If only Sir Meta Knight were here, then someone could translate..." Blade trailed off.

"Wait, He can translate Kirby!" Bun asked.

"yup! Apparently it was part of his basic training! He tried to teach us once... it didn't go as planned."

"Wonder what you guys did." Bun Muttered under his breath.

"eh, heheheh... Er... you don't want to know. At least it's a fond memory, right Sword?" Blade said embarrassed.

"you're sure right it is!" Sword replied.

Silence once again fell over them, They all knew that false cheeriness couldn't possibly be kept up in a place as dark as Nightmares Dungeon.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**You guys are perhaps the luckiest people on EARTH! You receive a total of 1888 words this time!Tell me what you think with a review! Truth be told I didn't update in my normal 2 day span because I was reading an awesome fanfiction called Guardians Arise by PitFTW. I must tell you, It's epic reading it! For those of you who don't know who Galactic Knight is, he's the final boss in Meta Knightmare ultra, from Kirby Super Star Ultra, which is an awesome game by the way.**

**Hope I did Okay!**


	5. Two Knights One Legend

***Groans* I. Hate. Writing. Well at least with a writer's block. I think I might have just doomed myself writing this chapter, once you read it you'll see why. So as I recently figured, writing a story with one main character is a lot harder than it seems. I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I feel so bad about not updating very fast! Please forgive me!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any Kirby characters, but I do own my representative in this world- who I prefer to call Caldwell. Granted you won't see him often,but that's beside the point!**

Meta Knight should've known that eventually he would have to go back into the real world and that the welcoming darkness couldn't hold him captive for long. When he awoke he was greeted with searing pain along his right side, and strangely enough, a feather. It taunted him, reminding him of his shadowy past. He smelled the musty, coppery scent of blood and realized that it was his own. He needed to bathe, possibly clean his gloves, and find out who'd saved him.

He felt lightheaded, drained. He knew he should rest, but the dream he'd had while unconscious had unnerved him. What had that person, that Galactic Knight meant? And why of all things did they apparently 'share a dream'? He decided that it was just a figment of his wary imagination, something caused by the blood loss and maybe the dehydration. He wished Jecra were here now, he'd always known how to calm the worry-prone Knight.

Numbly Meta Knight thought of the dream, and its possible meanings. His musings left him three options. Either he was still unconscious, dead, or this was all real and everyone he knew was now in great danger. He decided that the third option was the most plausible, even he couldn't imagine pain to such great extents as he was feeling.

Wincing slightly as he began to get up, Meta Knight was quite surprised when a hand gloved much like his own gently pushed him back down again. Looking at the Warrior in front of himself, Meta barely resisted the urge to use Galaxia on him.

Standing in front of him was the Knight from his dream, one that had apparently been sealed away-never to be seen again. The Lance wielding, dark pink, masked knight in front of him was none other than Galactic Knight. Jecra himself had seen his old _acquaintance_die in battle, to be sealed away for the better.

How was this supposedly dead knight standing in front of him now? How was he living and breathing, flesh and blood? Why was he just _staring _at Meta as if he knew everything? It was actually quite unsettling, and he wondered if that's how people felt around himself at times... he should stop staring into space as much as he usually did.

"Careful, your wounds are still healing. You shouldn't overdue yourself right after you wake up, Meta Knight." The other knight stated calmly.

He had known Meta's name and he'd addressed him accordingly. Something wasn't right about that other knight, something felt off about him. The Knight's long feathery wings explained the feather that had been in front of him when he'd waken up.

"Stay back, foul demon!" Meta Knight warned, throwing his sword in a wide arc before him. With an unknown enemy, you couldn't take any chances. The unknown knight seemed to sink a little, as if he was saddened by the fact that Meta didn't trust him. The other knight bowed his head slightly in respect before saying the response only known by star warriors of long ago.

"I may be a beast, but no demon shall I be. I yearn to protect my people and my country, I will receive orders without complaint, and I will live by the acts of chivalry. I will mourn the death's of those not needed to be wasted and I will avenge those deaths if they are under my command. By those rules I shall live, and no other shall I swear alliance to." He drew his hand into a tight fist and saluted as he said the ancient oath.

Meta Knight sheathed his legendary blade, now knowing that the figure before him was one he could trust, even though they had a strange air about them. This person couldn't possibly be the one he claimed to be, he was most likely a genetic malfunction of sorts, or another illusion of his mind.

"Who are you, Knight who claims falsely?" Meta Knight none too gently reprimanded.

"Thou does not believe me? Fair thee well. I am known as the Galactic Knight of legend, surely you had heard of thee?" 'Galactic Knight' questioned.

"Quit joking, its not the time."

"As you wish. Now, what would it take to convince my untrusting friend?"

"Simple. Prove it. Prove that you are the knight of legend."

The knight just shot a knowing glance at Meta Knight's direction before heading outside. Meta felt the cool of his metal boots as he followed the delusional knight. Once outside, the knight performed a move that scarce minimum could perform, the Twin Mach Tornado. It was a destructive force that was immensely powerful and dangerous to those who didn't know how to wield the deadly force. Meta Knight could only perform a singular Mach tornado, and then again he could only do it once in a while.

"That good enough for you?"

Meta could only weakly nod. The true Galactic Knight of legend had been the only one so far to be able to perform twin or triple Mach Tornado. Galactic Knight chuckled with his deep and strangely echoing voice, finding obvious mirth in Meta Knight's dumbfoundment.

"I think I need to explain things a bit for you, I do apologize for the scare. Now how about we get out of this courtyard before the King finds us, I could only imagine things that happen within those walls." Galactic Knight teasingly stated.

"You're right... follow me, we don't want to be caught in the after math of this." Meta Knight responded, his voice barely above a whisper.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%5

( In another rarely used room of the castle)

"hmm... now that I think of it, it's been relatively silent for the past couple of days... Mom must've forced DeDeDe to take the kids to an amusement park after all... Maybe there's something of use in this book...nope." A short figure with hair pulled back into a ponytail looked around her at the giant stack of books forming around the table. Who would've known finding any hints or clues about the Star Galaxy Army would be this hard? She certainly didn't, that much was clear. She was used to be able to find things instantly, especially when it came to books. Fumu (Tiff) sighed and decided to start looking in the mythology section once she was through with the history section of the castle library.

Her efforts were mostly in vain, until she came upon a very dusty scroll buried beneath tons of books in the mythology section. Blowing the dust off of the large scroll ended in making her sneeze so much that her throat became dry and raw. Muttering about unfairness she reflected why she'd been searching since dawn that morning. Scoffing at her naivety to believe a dream of all things, A guy who looked a lot like Meta Knight had told her that it may come in handy later, and she'd believed him! She, Fumu of Pupu Village, had believed a dream without a doubt!

Well at least she could read more about Meta Knight's and Kirby's culture. That seemed to calm her down enough to blow more of the obnoxious dust off of the large and ancient scroll.

"WHO WRECKED MY COURTYARD!"

"Sire, maybe the waddle dees had mating season again?"

Those were the unmistakable voices of Dedede and Escargon. She snickered, the waddle dees mating season had already passed, most likely her brother had played a prank on the dictator and his loyal servant.

Holding her breathe, she began to read, her eyes hungry for the knowledge before her. Her sharp intake of breath and rapid heartbeat sparked a curiosity in two 'innocent' people who just 'happened' to be passing by. Their ears pricked and they slowed down to a halt, making sure to be out of sight of the room's only occupant.

"**Two knights, both unnamed at birth would change the fate of the world eventually shaping it for the better- or for the worse..."**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
**

Meta Knight led Galactic Knight through the dense forest, weaving a complex and simple path. He was careful not to trod on Acore's ancient roots, or alert any of the forest animals of his presence. They walked in silence until they came upon a small cave in the cliff. He'd used it before, when Kirby had eaten that noddy, and many times before and after that incident.

"Here we are..." Meta Knight trailed off slightly, realizing just how small the cave in front of them was.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"yes, Acore's scent prevents even the best of trackers from finding this location. Before you ask, yes it's sturdy, enough so that when it flooded down here I'm still alive."

"If you say so." They squeezed into the tight space, just barely enough room between them to start a fire, had there been a need.

"alright. Have you heard the legend of creation, I'm not sure if they still teach it..."

"Legend Of Creation? No I don't think I heard of that one when I was a Recruit." Meta Knight responded. The slight whistling sound that came from the direction of Galactic Knight signified that a sigh had been released, It would be a long night.

"Alright the legend goes like this, **Two beings would change the fate of others for the better or for the worse. One would be absorbed by the other long before they were born. One would be used to create the other..."**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
**

"**The one used to create the Star Warrior would no longer exist, but would be seen in his old form in a time of great crisis. A completely different being than the two whose souls are forever entwined, would try to help-only to be beaten by the Nightmare Of All Creation. Nightmare would rip the two souls apart, only wanting the original being, and not the one who'd been absorbed." **Fumu continued reading, not even tearing her eyes away from the page.

"**the 'creation' would become more prone to darkness, casting off his former self like one would brush off dirt. He would reign terror among his fellow demons. He was the created Star Warrior. The one that Nightmare wanted all for himself, He would never be the same, eventually killing his pure soul.**"

"Is that it?"

"not really. As I can recall, the soul of the creation was absorbed by Nightmare, making it nearly impossible to get to. The Legend really was shady even when I was a Recruit. I'm not even sure all the details are right. The reason I'm telling you this is because it might help you on your own quest, Young knight."

"Are you sure that that is even the correct version of the legend?"

"No, but I believe it." Galactic Knight responded.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Did ya hear that, Escargon? That legend could be the downfall of Kirby!"

"Are you still thinking about that, your majesty?"

"Yes, Yes I am."

Fumu heard them from inside the room. If they heard all that, it couldn't possibly be good. They could use it against Kirby! Maybe she shouldn't have been so ready to believe her dream. She looked around her for the young star warrior and decided to alert Meta Knight about the current predicament.

"_Curse that damn Galactic Knight! I should've known he would find a way to contact Meta Knight! Now He knows of the Legend that could be my downfall! Costumer Service! Make sure that doesn't happen again!"_

"Yes Your Majesty, I won't disappoint you!"

"_Good. Now begin the download to our good friend King DeDeDe."_

"At once, captain!" Costumer Service entered a complex and confusing string of combinations into his neon orange computer, sending the demon beast through the network and by the end of the night, Dedede's downloading system.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Don't worry I'll try to be getting my postings out by Tuesdays so you won't have to wait that long!Please Review!Galactic Knight is NOT an OC!**

**Tell me what you think would happen next! It would really help to see where you guys think this Fanfiction is going!  
**


	6. Feathers and Footfalls

**Alright I'm back! I'll have you know that I wrote a slight plot and I changed the summary! I've finally finished watching the Anime! Keep reading, for I haven't lost faith in this story yet!**

**Thank you sparklespepper, NightimeWhispers, and Kitzykat for reviewing and giving me some inspiration!**

**Disclaimer: "The Panda Warrior does not own any of the Kirby franchise, and this Author does not wish to own this franchise either," Meta Knight stated.**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Fumu ran, her legs burning, heart racing, and chest heaving. She had to tell Meta Knight that Dedede might know some valuable things about the Star Warriors. There was also a small problem of a particular pulsing sky that she was more than slightly aware of. It had started to become...agitated, as if it was expecting something, or someone and they were more than slightly late.

There was the slight complication of _finding _the evasive knight, he really knew how to hide. In fact last year the penguin king had challenged people to find Meta Knight for a reward of twelve solid gold and silver Deden. When no one had found him for more than two weeks, he'd shown himself to the other knights and they continued training. He remained hidden to the people participating in the bet for another two weeks. Finally after a month of waiting he revealed himself and cashed in the reward.

Surprisingly, he used the money to pay for public services. When she'd heard of it she thought her heart would explode. That just showed how evasive he could be, if he needed to.

Fumu searched every place she could think of- even Kirby's house! He wasn't at the beach, Kabu's valley was vacant, and even the castle held no sign of him! She nearly face-palmed when she thought of something. He'd hidden himself, he didn't want to be found easily, she would have to think like the knight.

He didn't care much for the Cappies, that much was evident. He did, however, care for Dreamland, his fellow knights, and a good mystery. She'd found that out by months of studying him and his interesting quirks. Whenever someone mentioned a nightmare or Nightmare, he'd become extremely violent. So he'd be somewhere mysterious, probably near nature, and a place with nothing to do with Nightmare.

He was most likely in the forest, or on the cliffside. He'd been known to appear there whenever there was danger, usually to assist Bun, Kirby, and herself. As for the forest, she'd heard Sword and Blade talk about 'their lord's usual spot', briefly arguing whether or not he would be talking to Kabu or hiding in the dense forest. Since he loved a good mystery, she decided to go and ask Whispy Woods if he knew anything, after all if Meta Knight was in the woods Whispy would know.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"You really believe that legend, don't you?" Meta Knight asked his companion.

"Yes, why wouldn't I? You'll see how much legends really aren't legends soon enough." Galactic Knight replied.

"If you say so. How did you know Jecra?"

"Ah... I knew you would ask that. You see, Jecra and I became good friends after he trained me, That is until the Commander sent me on a mission that just about cost me my life-"

"Well then why was Jecra mad at you?"

"I was getting to that, now where was I? Oh yes! The Commander sent me on a very dangerous mission, one Jecra was highly opposed to. He became angry at me because I chose to accept the mission, When I didn't return for years on end they were convinced that I'd been lost in battle. In reality however, I had been captured and thought I was still living my life. The truth was, I was in a living nightmare. I couldn't wake up, I could only keep dreaming, Thus I slowly started to destroy my comrades from inside out.

"They continued to worry, not able to tell if I was truly alive or dead when the Commander told the others that I was officially Missing In Action." Galactic Knight's deep, echoing voice was solemn, as if he regretted ever leaving the Galaxy Star Army base.

"We should probably head back, you never know with His Majesty." Meat Knight grumbled.

"Meta Knight? Thank you, I needed to get that off my chest."

"Couldn't you just seek out another persons company who could provide answers?"

"Yes, I could-" Galactic Knight started, only to be cut off by a scream in the distance.

"That sounded like Fumu, We should hurry!" Meta Knight began to run, his companion a few paces behind him. They continued running in the general direction of the scream, it could very well be a dangerous situation. The beating of wings and footfalls were the only sounds in the forest now, breaking the heavy silence between the two knights.

Meta Knight drew galaxia, waiting for something to verify Fumu's location. Galactic Knight looked around them before walking over to a bush and picking up something glittering in the sunlight. It looked distinctly silver, with a small, smooth, blue gem in the middle of it. It would have been small enough to fit around someone's wrist, he was holding a bracelet.

"Is this hers?" He asked, eyes shifting around the clearing looking for the owner of the delicate thing he held in his hand.

"Yes, that's hers. Her father gave it to her as a birthday gift. That means she should be around here somewhere." Meta's eyes scanned the trees and the area around them, shifting from yellow to an amber in color. Another scream, much closer this time, interrupted both the knight's train of thought as they darted towards the sound.

Their footfalls pounded the earth, yet they still couldn't find Fumu. Both knights ended up at the center of the forest, Whispy Wood's core. In front of them stood what would have been Whispy Woods, that was now nothing more than a bloody tree. Cuts ran up and down his bark, tree sap slowly oozing out of them. His branches were bare, and all of his apples had fallen. He was breathing, barely, his eyes closed. The blood that coated the proud tree wasn't Whispy's.

"It is fumu's..."

"How wretched!" Galactic Knight exclaimed.

"H-HELP!" Fumu screamed, some distance away. Meta Knight grabbed the other knight and wrapped his cape around them. Galactic Knight felt as if his insides would explode, he never wanted to travel by the dimensional cape again. He could stomach using the teleportation technique of the Star Galaxy Army, just not the cape's.

She was pinned against a tree, someone cloaked in black cloth that covered his egg-like form. His dark red eyes narrowed when he heard the two knights land, and the ninja, Yamikage, drew a long curved blade that samurai wielded. The katana glinted red in the light, matching the color of Yamikage's eyes.

"M-meta Naito-kun*..." Fumu breathed. He'd come, she might still have a chance! Yamikage had been about to kill her for information she didn't have. The rogue ninja had wanted her dead, had wanted Meta Knight dead, and had wanted Kirby dead.

The dark pink warrior next to Meta Knight looked at her worriedly, or at least she thought so, as he was wearing a mask that went in a cross pattern. His maroon eyes seemed to see straight through her soul, and assessed the damage done to her. '_This isn't good, she could die of blood loss soon.'_ Galactic Knight thought.

"Prepare to face defeat, Meta Knight of the Stars! My need for revenge against you shall be quenched!" Yamikage got into a battle stance. His feet had shifted his weight, so that more of his weight was on his back leg. His bloody katana in front of him, clearly showing off the deadly sharp edge. Meta Knight also shifted easily into a fighting stance, planning for an easy victory.

The two enemies charged each other, both sword and katana flashing. There was the distinct sound of metal against metal, and the two fighters slid to opposite side of the small clearing. Yamikage threw metal stars known as _shuriken._ They whizzed past Meta Knight's ear and hit the tree next to fumu. Yamikage dashed, running along the trees, until he brought down the full weight of the blade he wielded on top of the sacred sword.

Meta Knight brought his sword up to block the attack, feeling the full weight of the ninjas sword against his. He shoved upwards with all his might. Yamikage went flying, but not without cutting a shallow gash along his left side. The ninja sent barrage after barrage of _shuriken _and throwing knives. Meta Knight continuously blocked them, not letting any hit the person behind him. His body now riddled with small cuts, a couple managed to deeply mark his mask, one making a scar-like resemblance over his right eye.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Hmmm... that wasn't according to plans, eh Nightmare?" Customer Service said, rubbing his bare chin.

"_Yes and No. When that idiotic ninja didn't come back to the system, I suspected something. I, however, couldn't guess that he would attack my little experiment."_

"Shall we move the hostages into the **other **room? Or perhaps use them for bait for our new trainees? It's your decision, Commander of Darkness."

"_Patience, Customer Service, they will be disposed of in due time. Now is our little 'present' fully downloaded yet, or is it making final touches?"_

"I believe you'll find that 'it' is almost done downloading, we just have to wait for the pills to be touched by water. Hey, Nightmare why do you want the knight so bad?"

"_You'll learn eventually, my puppet," _laughing maniacally, Nightmare vanished into the thick darknessaround his throne.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

A set of frightened eyes met each other, before looking down at the floor again. Neither wished to admit the fact that they most likely didn't have much more time before they would become enslaved to Nightmare. They knew that their lord would come, but what if he came too late, what if they were too far gone when he tried to save them? What would happen then, would he just leave them, alone and to die, or would he find a way for them to escape?

They both knew that they shouldn't doubt the one who'd saved their lives countless times, when did they earn the privilege to do so? The two still awake knights heard the clunking of heavy metal boots, and tried to put on brave faces underneath the cool armor. For both of them knew that those were the foot steps of either the executioner, or the demon handler. For the third time in their lives, the knights were scared. They were on their own, no longer having their lord to back them up,take the blows meant for them, and ultimately protect them from what's to come.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Oh god, I am Sooo sorry! I promise to try to write a bit in school so updates won't take as long!**

**References:**

**Meta Naito Kun: Ultimately this is what Fumu calls Meta Knight in the Japanese version of the anime. It's basically his name with an added suffix on the end.**

**Scar over Meta Knights mask: eh... that happens to be a kirby game reference. I enjoy using them, so they are to be expected.**

**I apologize for the shorter than usual chapter... I couldn't type fast enough and that led to ideas being , I do realize that Galactic Knight is _slightly _out of character, it happens.**

**Thanks for reading, and enjoy the wonders of !**


	7. Spiraling Nuisance

"**Eh... Sorry for the semi-late update. You see I got this really awesome game called Kirby Squeak Squad and I just _had _to play it, and while I was searching for the stolen strawberry shortcake I-"**

"**Save the excuses for later, that's not how a warrior should act." Caldwell my OC reprimanded. He ran a hand through his long dirty blond hair before looking at me expectantly.**

"**Alright, alright. No more excuses. I do not own Kirby or any part of the franchise, nor do I want to for that matter. Do you know how simplistic I'd have to be if I designed the games? (I've nothing against them really, I just tend to have slightly darker than intended themes.)"**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Galacta Knight watched as Yamikage put his full weight on top of the silver blade after causing a deep gash in the opposing knight's mask. He watched as the golden bronze of Galaxia being ever so slowly pushed towards Meta Knight. Meta Knight shoved his sword upwards, causing Yamikage to skid across the forest floor. Meta Knight's moment of relief was soon cut short by Yamikage charging at him, his sword drawn. Soon it became an all out duel, and flashes of gold,silver,black,and navy blue were seen across almost every surface in the small clearing. Galacta Knight could hear more and more clangs as swords hit each other, he knew that neither knight nor ninja would admit defeat.

Making sure he would not be seen, Galacta Knight dashed across to the girl, Fumu, who was lying on the ground next to a bloodied tree. She was pale and her breathing was shallow, but he guessed it was more from shock than actual blood loss. There was a narrow cut along her neck and a slightly deeper one at her stomach. With some emergency treatment she would be fine, if he wasn't to late already.

Fumu had a pure heart and soul, a thing you rarely found at all. She wasn't jealous or greedy and she usually stood up for her beliefs. Her will that was set in stone never allowed her courage to waver, the beginnings of a strong warrior. He decided that maybe he'd teach her the bare basics and see where it went from then. He would not let her soul be ruined, ever.

"Stay in there, Miss Fumu!" he murmured quietly to the young maiden whose eyes were drooping ever so slightly. She reminded him of his late sister, who'd taken care of him until being targeted by Demon beasts. So kind, and so very stubborn.

Shirikun flew straight at Fumu, aimed for vital places. Without thinking Galacta Knight threw himself in front of the speeding metal, throwing his shield out at the last possible second, and stopping them from making a mark on the girl.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Meta Knight's tattered cape transformed into ripped and torn, leathery wings. He needed to finish this fast, as ninja's could draw energy from weakened opponents. The tip of galaxia began to shimmer, and dark beams with light embedded within worked onto the tip of the mighty sword. Yamikage had wrecked enough havoc on the world, he'd turned to darkness, he was no better than a demon beast. With those thoughts in mind, Galaxia made a wide arc through the air, and a dark green beam erupted from the tip of the sword.

Yamikage looked up in time to be ripped to shreds by the deadly dark and light combo. Nothing of the former star ninja was left. Gone, and the galaxy was rid of him for the rest of eternity. Exhaustion began to settle into the navy colored knight and he tipped to the side, hitting the ground with a harsh '_whump' _sound. He didn't notice that the ground he hit was already blood-stained. He didn't hear the faint and slightly insane cackle that reverberated off the inside of his skull. He only felt the welcoming embrace of sleep.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Fumu heard a slightly echoing voice telling her that she would be okay, and that she should stay in there. She knew she should wake up soon, but the worry free realm of dreams was tempting. She came to a sudden realization, she'd never heard that unearthly, echoing voice before. It didn't belong to Meta Knight, Bun, or Sword and Blade on their worst days. It wasn't right... was she-?

She slowly opened her eyes and came face-to-face with, what she believed to be, an angel. His broad, feathery wings were opened in a protective gesture, and his calm, maroon eyes looked at her with concern. The Lance that was at his side looked freshly sharpened and glinted in the dim sunlight.

"Am I dead?" She asked, as her small frame started sinking into the tree behind her a little more.

"You only wish, Miss Fumu. You have no idea how worried I was for a second there," the angel replied, his gaze unwavering from a point behind her. He offered her a gloved hand, which she took. Standing up, the stench of fresh blood hit her full force and she watched as the sky started to spin. The Angel's hands wrung themselves together, and the thick silence between them only deepened.

"Mr.? Where's Meta Knight?" She'd seen the angel enter the clearing with him, surely he would know where the missing knight was.

"Ah... I really don't know-hey! Don't look so distrusting! I'm not required to keep tabs on him at all times!"

"What do you mean! I've never seen you before now, and you entered the clearing with him! What kind of a guardian angel are you?" She very nearly shouted.

"First off I'm not an angel, Second you HAVE seen me before, you just didn't know it then. Lastly, I AM NOT supposed to keep tabs on him at all times!" The slight amount of maturity he'd gained over his imprisonment...gone. Just like that, it disappeared. Sighing, he led her over the fallen logs and the blood-stained ground, he needed to find Meta or the girl would never leave him be.

"We've- I guess you could say Meta Knight and I are kind of stuck together until this stupid seal is lifted, Got it? Good, I am not repeating myself." he huffed. God, he'd forgotten how annoying teenagers could be- even if in star warrior years he was barely older than twenty.

"Seal? Mister, what exactly are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I've told you enough already, and once again I'm not an angel, I just happen to bear slight resemblance to them."

"How did you-," she stopped as they arrived next to Meta Knight, lying in scarlet covered grass, not seeming to move.

"is he...?"

"Dead? no. Just exhausted, come on, your helping."

She yelped as he handed her the heavy metal boots that Meta Knight always wore. She watched as he picked Meta Knight's limp form off the ground, half carrying, half dragging.

"you carry that, I have the rest under control. I guess some good things can happen on this day, you are healed, Miss Fumu. Though with such a pure soul, it's a wonder you got hurt at all."

Like he'd calmly stated, her wounds had formed small scars. He'd said something about her soul being pure, now the only thing worrying her now was what on earth did that mean! He hoisted Meta Knight more securely in his arms before walking in an easy, loping stride.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you coming?" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Hmph!" For a Knight(as she guessed that was what he was) he was pretty rude at times.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Galacta Knight held his new baggage with ease, continuing in the general direction of his destination. He was more than slightly ashamed that a pure-hearted child would even think about calling _him _an angel. She should watch her thoughts more closely, that would lead to words and actions she would regret later.

The soft earth beneath the soles of his shoes, eventually turned into the hard, rocky, jagged landscape he was looking for. He knew that he'd made it to his destination without even needing to look up. In front of him stood a slightly larger cave than the one Meta Knight had shown him earlier, perfect.

He set the Knight down gently onto the cave floor and turned to Fumu, preparing for the onslaught of questions that were sure to come.

"What did you mean by 'seal'? And if you're not an angel,then who are you? Why did you call me 'pure-hearted'? How do you know Meta Knight? Why are you helping-"

"Easy on the questions, Fumu. '_Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the_ _mind on the present moment.' _These wise words of life should help, you'll find out the answers eventually. However, to further prevent you from calling me 'angel' I am known as Galacta Knight, and no, I'm not in any way shape or form related to the knights you know of," he coldly responded, going out and starting to gather firewood.

"What on earth is that supposed to mean! Where'd you get that quote from, the mythical man named Buddha?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. You should know that he was no more mythical than your ancestors, quite the nice man, actually."

In response to his matter-of-fact statement, Fumu crossed her arms and sat on the cave floor, thinking that she might as well give him the cold shoulder. She watched Meta Knight take in easy breaths as he slept, and found her face getting warmer. She quickly turned her head away as Galacta Knight walked back into the room. His crescent moon eyes were dull and distant as he sat down across from her. His beautiful wings were dripping, the cold moisture hitting the cave floor and continuing to make it darker.

The clouds were gray and light streaked across the sky, a startling clap was heard and then all she could see outside of the cave was water. It dripped off of leaves, and ran in torrents down and around the vegetation. A howling pierced the air, and whether if it was an animal or the wind she couldn't tell. The cold seeped into the room, coating her with it's icy freshness. A light tremor shook her body, and Galacta Knight opened a now dry wing for her to lay under, his hand always hooked loosely around the dark pink lance. His warm embrace kept the chilly night time air from hitting her sensitive skin, and for that she was thankful.

Another thunder clap was heard, and Meta Knight wearily sat up, scanning for any signs of danger. He noticed Galacta Knight and nodded at him, checking his own injuries, and seeming satisfied he picked up the sacred sword and looked out the cave's entrance.

The lightning was still eerily in that pulsing pattern, never ceasing. He looked at it once again, his hand tightening on the blade, before returning to their little spot within the cave. Some of the more dry pieces of firewood were lit and quietly tended to, and the cold nearly put it out, had it not been for Meta Knight calmly blowing on it.

His sword swung and was pointed at the other knight's chest.

"I still don't trust you, so tell me what business do you have here?" Came Meta Knight's deep, cold accusation.

"Ah...they trained you well. I'm merely here because I was summoned, you will know eventually warrior. I just thought I'd warn you, _'All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.'_ *Things will only become harder from here on out, and I will always be there to help," Galacta Knight folded his wings onto his shoulders, and strode out into the rain. You could still hear his laughter as he disappeared, not to be seen for a long time.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"_Why must my perfect creation make everything so much more complicated! I'll have to revise my plans immediately, and possibly find a way to break that stupid seal!" _Nightmare howled in rage, he should've done away with that other knight when he had the chance. He should've done away with Popstar when Dedede had ordered his strongest demon beast!

"Master, the demon has been downloaded, like you wanted," Costumer Service stated.

"_Fair enough. Now are the other demons ready?"_

"Yes, and so are our 'guests'."

"_Good. Very good, keep up the good work, Service, and I might release your family."_

Costumer Service meekly bowed in response, before heading off to complete more tasks Nightmare had assigned him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"blade, are you sure?"

"Yeah I'm positive, that's the demon handlers weapon."

"Their not just... letting us go are they?"

"Poyo!" Kirby very nearly left the room they were hidden in, but Bun stopped him.

"Quiet Kirby, we don't want to be caught!" He strictly reprimanded.

Then they heard it, the slight clacking sound of metal boots hitting the stone and metal floor. Heavy, metal boots.

"There they are! Sieze them!" the guard shouted, grabbing them all in a strange field of energy. More and more guards joined their comrade, and a feeling of despair swept over the escapees. They were caught, doomed.

"Now, now what do we have here? Master would be very proud." Costumer Service applauded, stepping out from the shadows and into the gray light.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Erm... this seems to be a dark and light chapter, but I'm happy with it. Now time for the references!**

**The first quote, was in fact from Buddha.**

**The second quote was from Ellen Glasgow.**

**Thanks for reading! Oh and thank my new beta reader,**

**Metaknight4ever**


	8. Emerald and Blue Moon

**GAH! NO, I DON'T WANT TO NOT UPDATE FOR MONTHS! I'm really sorry, I have writers block so this chapter might not be as good or action packed as its predecessors. I might not update in the middle of April, as end o' the year tests are coming out (bites fingernails and looks around). I get really, really bad test anxiety so that's that. Please read the words below this and I hope you enjoy!**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

They watched as the swirls of dark purple and black disappeared, no words leaving the two people opposite of the fading portal.

"He just...disappeared..." Fumu muttered in awe, watching the colors finally fade away. "Can you do that, Meta Knight?"

The knight simply turned heel and briskly walked in the other direction. She broke into a light jog to keep up with the knight.

"Meta Knight? Sir, are you okay?"

"Why ever do you ask, Fumu?"

"I'm worried about you, you're even more secluded than usual, and your eyes changed color just a second ago. You just look... forlorn, almost as if you're depressed about something," she stood with her hands on her hips, blocking his path through the forest.

"Fumu, I'm fine. I'm surprised you even noticed. I am only thinking. Do you know where Sword and Blade are?"

"Oh...okay I guess. Sword and Blade? They went to go collect firewood for the king and haven't returned yet...-"

"They were kidnapped, most likely by Nightmare. We should hurry, I don't want anybody else getting tainted by _him," _ Fumu backed away. She watched as Meta's eyes slowly changed back from amber back to a dull gold. He held out his old worn glove for her, his head tilted towards the ground. Fumu looked at the offered hand, before grabbing onto it and hugging him. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even _think _about hugging him, but he just looked so sad to her.

He was as stiff as a board, the shoulder blades digging uncomfortably into Fumu's shoulder. After about a minute his hand gently rubbed her back, although he was still stiff.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Meta Knight looked at the young girl who was _hugging _him with slightly glazed eyes. He'd really never been hugged before, his own father had never even hugged him . Shortly after birth, he was left to die in the harsh wilderness, not knowing how to do the simplest of things. When the Demon Beasts had ransacked the town and Sir Kibble had taken him in . The Beasts had quickly overpowered the young scout and Meta had been taken to customer service. The Sales Guy had just sent him to a training facility once Meta had been old enough. When the majority of Nightmare Enterprises migrated to a different location, Meta Knight and a few others remained at the old base. Wolfwrath had been the first to fall that fateful day. The day when the Star Warriors had taken the base over for good.

"Sir Meta Knight?"

Her voice quickly brought him out of his past and into the present. She had let go and was staring at him, her hands fiddling with her hair.

"Hmm?"

"N-nothing!" he felt the green haze around the outside of his vision begin to fade. Underneath the thick metal mask, Meta Knight was smiling faintly. She thought he didn't know, but he'd been trained to notice the slightest change in the environment, and the people within it. He knew all right, but he'd let her decide whether or not to tell him.

Meta Knight felt the air around him turn heavy, the edges of his vision turning dark. A bright light flashed in the middle of his vision, before it turned completely dark, much like night. He felt his body start to pitch forwards, seeing only the blank darkness. His vision switched over to a bloody battle scene, screams of pain and blood were all along the battlefield. He saw a slightly younger looking Galacta Knight protecting a wounded soldier. Meta Knight continued to watch as the scene before him unfolded.

More and More enemies fell to Galacta Knight's glowing lance, but more and more enemies had come. Soon he and the other Knight were surrounded. The wounded knight had shakily got to his feet, wielding his steel sword. He swung it in a wide arc before falling to his knees again. Galacta Knight used a sword beam to take out a good number of the enemies. He looked at his partner, who was once again struggling to stand. The wounded soldier muttered something underneath his breath, stunning everyone he turned his eyes onto. It was the Commanders son, Caldwell of the Blue Moon, somewhat of a wanderer. Caldwell was soon aided by another of the Wanderer tribe, Stranger of the Emerald Heart.

Meta Knight watched as his long-time friends battled the still stunned demons, Caldwell keeping the spell up with slight difficulty. Stranger pulled out the small daggers he kept on his triceps and began taking out enemies like there was no tomorrow, the cloak he always wore never straying from its place. Galacta Knight's eyes turned the slightest shade lighter as he looked at the two wanderers. The Galaxy Star Army had defeated their enemy for now; demon bodies lay strewn about the battlefield, coating it with green, red, and black blood.

Both Galacta Knight and Stranger turned as Caldwell hit the ground, the cloth around his leg staining red. Jecra rushed over, calling for a spare medic as he approached. The medic, known as Lady Sinistra immediately began to heal him, her hands glowing a soft green.

"I can heal it, but not completely. Do you think you can live with a permanent limp, my Lord?"

"S-sure. But please remove the poison first..."

"Whatever you say, Brother."

Almost as soon as she'd healed him, a second round of Demon Beasts came, stepping over their own fallen comrades.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Sir Meta Knight!"

The scene, or vision, disappeared almost instantly. He'd slid down the hill after he'd fainted, his mask and front simply coated in mud. Slightly embarrassed he tried his best to wipe the mud off, to no avail. What had he just witnessed? It seemed like a memory of sorts, Galacta Knight's memory.

"I am fine Fumu. What happened?"

"W-well... you were talking to me and then you just... fainted I guess..."

"Just as I thought. Come, let's start getting supplies." Once again, he started walking away, towards the town the king claimed he ruled.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Galacta appeared on the cliff-side, eyes scanning the area and finding nothing. His memories had been breached, he knew that it was either Nightmare at work or it was the idiotic seal that had been placed on both him and Meta Knight. He'd never left; he couldn't once he'd been summoned, not until he had finished his duties.

Mentally, Galacta Knight berated himself for letting his less than sane side be witnessed. Now he would have to work behind the scenes, until Meta needed him. He knew Meta Knight would leave most likely tomorrow, and he couldn't let that happen just yet. Nightmare was expecting that, and emotions could lead to predictability. Not another would fall victim to the cruel work of that dictator. Sighing he began to plan how he would sabotage the other knight's plans.

"_Let__ me take over, I could provide a brilliant distraction,"_ his insane side whispered.

"No. Last time you took over, you destroyed the Home base, remember?"

"_Aw, but that was so much fun! Besides, you enjoyed it."_

"...I'm older now, so no. You are not taking over; I need to work behind the scenes."

"_Just let me out for a tiny amount of time. You'll __see;__ I've changed. And you know that your seal is beginning to start the process all over again, you'll be nothing more than a mere name soon."_

"Just stop. I know, and I don't care, as long as I can help him that's good enough for me.'

"_As you wish, my poor, clueless vessel," the voice cackled disappearing just like it had come._

Galacta Knight couldn't deny that it was right; he also couldn't deny what it had said. It knew his faults, thoughts, and every action and consequence. Sighing once more he looked up to see the still dark and pulsing sky, knowing that soon it would be time.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Meta Knight could've sworn he heard that insane laughter start up again, but it faded before he could pinpoint its exact location. Fumu was looking in every direction, her ears perking up slightly.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Oh... never mind. I thought I heard a twig snap or something."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

He hadn't heard it; she knew she was imagining things. He probably had sharper hearing than she did any day. She just missed Bun. He'd gone missing, just like Kirby and the other knights; he'd been kidnapped.

She only wished for his safety and for the others safety. Meta Knight was probably thinking along the same lines right about now, but she wasn't a mind reader, so she wouldn't know.

She watched the road pass underneath her feet, turning from dirt to cobble in minutes. Cappies watched as they passed, soon returning back to their daily businesses. Meta Knight seemed more tense than usual, his hand near Galaxia's scabbard, ready to grab it at any moment. A loud bang shook the walls of the buildings, followed by another.

Standing in the middle of the chaos was an old friend of Meta's. Stranger of the Emerald Heart grinned at him, his arrows drawn and pointing straight at the place where Meta's heart would be. Stranger's eyes were glowing green underneath the hood, his arrows never wavering from their place.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Here you are, My Lord."

"_Good, you caught the brats before they escaped. Do you wish to finally see your son, Customer?"_

"... I wish to only serve My Lord."

"_Good. Now I believe we can send them to the arena for their punishment. Oh, and Customer? Remove their armor, they deserve it."_

"At once, sire." He turned heel and ordered the knight's armor to be removed. Customer Service walked to the arena master and told him the plans for the captives, all the while wishing to see his son once more. That was one of the only reasons he put up with Nightmare, as the 'King' had his family, and he would do anything to get them back and away from this torturous place.

"Have the arena ready in three days' time, we have volunteers."

"Volunteers, you say? When did they get on his bad side?"

"Why do you need to know?" he replied, heading off towards his chambers to prepare the toxic poison to feed to another 'volunteer'. How he hated his life.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Blade... our armor was just ordered to be removed..."

"I know. This would have to happen sometime, right? We can't hide who we are forever, not even to ourselves. At least we're not like that guy over there..." Blade's head jerked in the direction of a skeleton, which was severely mangled.

"Might as well be. Kirby, Bun, here you'll need it more than I do." Blade began pulling something out of a pocket in the armor only to be stopped by Sword.

"What are you doing! You know he entrusted that to us! We can't just give it out!"

"I know, Sword. They need it more than us, we can always use magic, they don't even have that," Blade whispered, resuming the task of pulling something out of the armor. Sighing Sword did the same, struggling as the two were still chained to a wall. He tossed a shard of something to Kirby, somehow managing to look forlorn as he did so. Blade threw a shard to Bun, making sure it hit the kid and not the ground.

"Now the only way that will work is if you use it for medical purposes, it apparently never had the ability to fly. Yes Kirby, it's a Warp Star," Blade explained.

"You mean... Sir Meta Knight had one too?" Bun looked at the shard of star expectantly, brushing off a layer of dust from it.

"Yes, he did. It's just... it never did work properly for him," Sword muttered, trying to escape the chains once again.

"I can't believe we got caught," Bun muttered softly.

"Poyo! Pi-po, Poyayo!"

"I really wish we could understand him. Well at least he sounds happy..." Blade murmured.

"Yeah, I guess he sounds happy," Sword responded.

"Good for him, now you four shall start getting prepared to visit the arena, you ARE Nightmare's guests after all." Customer Service smiled outside of their small prison, swinging the keys tauntingly.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Alright The WANDERER Stranger does NOT belong to me, so I suggest you read my good friend Sweey ('s) stories, which are really good. Thanks for waiting for this chapter and for you, I made it a little longer.**

**Thank my Beta, Metaknight4ever! Please do, she fixed the mess this chapter was and did it wonderfully!  
**

**Enjoy people; it's there**** for your entertainment!**

**Panda out!**


	9. Finding Stranger Things

Meta Knight stared at the poisoned, emerald-tipped arrow that was knocked inthe string of the double bow resting in Stranger's hands. His friend was planning on shooting him.Meta could see it in Stranger's glowing, green eyes that narrowed at him from beneath the deep hood the Wanderer always wore castover his face. The deadly arrow was knocked and aimed straight at him, and Meta Knight knew Stranger would not miss, he never missed his mark. Themasked knightcould feel the soft leather of Galaxia's hilt beneath his gloved hand. He looked back up at the Wanderer, knowing death would soon follow themoment the arrow flew from the string. He felt the chill of round, flat stones hidden beneath his cape. If he died, who would perform the burial rights? Traditionally, in the Galaxy SoldierArmy, it was done by the first person who saw the body, dead or dying. Stranger was not himself, so he was out of the question and Meta knew of no other Star Warrior that was old enough to know the burial ritual.

He fingered thewhip that rested at the end of the belt that also held Galaxia, his hand clutching the handle of the long, painful tool.

"Prepare yourself," Stranger growled, holding the massive, double bow in amotion that revealed he was indeed ready to let the arrow fly_. _

Meta Knight knew that he wouldn't be able to release the whip onto the bow intime enough to stop the deadly shot, for Stranger already had the arrowready and taut, his covered gaze locked onto Meta Knight's golden eyes_._ Meta Knight stood in front of Fumu, ready to accept anything that was thrown at him. He would die a knight, he would die in honor. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fumu was shaking slightly. Meta tightened his hand on the whip, practicallypulling it out, but stopped upon realizing that Stranger would just shoot him anyways.

He watched as Stranger drew the cord back further, tightening to the bow's fulldraw back and kissed his thumb as it brushed against his lips.The curved, double bow did not yield to the stiff, extendedcord that held the arrow in place. He pulled it back additionally, preparing to release the deadly, poison-tippedshaft.

Something in the trees stirred, barely the slightest hint of a shadow'_s_ quintessence. Meta Knight saw the faintest, aqua-colored glowing coming from the place of the shadow distortion. It grew in intensity, soon forming a sphere of light. The light appeared to be coming closer along with the indistinct, shadowyfigure. The shadow appeared behind Stranger, its eyes glowing aqua.

"I suggest you don't do that, Altan of the Red Dawn," an indistinctly_, _familiar voice whispered from within the shadow as aqua tipped swords shot out of theshifting substance. One of the curved blades rested against Stranger's throat, the other had knocked the bow out of Stranger's rigid grasp.

"Master..."

"Exactly, now fight it, Altan, like I know you can," the voice coaxed tenderly.

The responsewas instantaneous. Stranger fell to the ground, trembling violently and murmuring unintelligible phrases, perhaps words of a different language. His back arched and he grabbed a dagger that was kept on his triceps, attempting to stab his heart. The person within the shadow stopped him, the swords continuing to glow aqua.

"Hurts...Nightmare...poison...Shadox...captured...not dead...Kill..I must kill Meta...Knight," Stranger's voice escalated in volume as his lips formed thename,his eyes once more flashing green underneath the hood.

"...I know Stranger, Fight it. Fight it for the Galaxy Soldier Army. Fight it to regain your heart and soul. Fight hooded one!"

Only one person in the Universe would dare insult Stranger, especially with one that barely related to the other Wanderer at all.

Meta Knight watched as the shadows dispersed around Caldwell of the Blue Moon, once known as the Shadow of the Night Sky. He hadn't changed a bit. The only thing absent was his cane.

Stranger's back vaulted again as he struggled to get out from Caldwell's grasp, but the older Wanderer was not phased by the attempt. The swords disappeared as Caldwell the Shadow's hands blazed the distinct aqua color again and the sapphire bracelet he wore seemed to bring aid to the motion.

Meta Knight looked at them again and he snapped into action. As he rushed over, he pulled out a small vial of liquid, which he handed to Caldwell. Caldwell the Shadow accepted it graciously, popping the top off of it and dumping the contents into Stranger's mouth. He covered the Wanderer's mouth and nose, forcing the other to swallow. As the liquid drained down his throat, Stranger's attempt to fight him off grew more frail and weak as time went on until finally he went limp.  
"Y-you killed him! A-and he called you his 'master'! You're just going to let him die by your hands?" Fumu shouted, stalking over to the three men. Caldwell the Shadow ran a hand down to the sheath of his curved swords, looking exasperated as he did so.

"Meta Knight, I'm busy, you handle it," Caldwell sighed as he checked Stranger's pulse.

"You haven't changed much, have you?" Meta Knight murmured to Caldwell. He then addressed to the impatient girl beside him, "Fumu we would n-"

"Why should I believe you, Meta Knight? You never tell me anything, and you're mysterious no matter what you do! He appeared out of nowhere and you know him! Not to mention, you know more about Kirby than I think you let on! You know almost every Demon Beast's weakness and name! You-"

"While listening to my friend get what's coming to him is quite entertaining, I think that interrupting would be best at this time. For now we are a team, we shall not fight like a bunch of wild beasts. _Don't find fault, find a remedy_," Shadow of the Night Sky chided. Sighing, he picked up Stranger's limp form and began walking towards the castle. As he walked, his footsteps resounded heavier on his left side, but he continued on, waiting for them to follow.

"H-hey! You can't just walk away! We have t-"

"I just did. Now may I ask madam, why are you away from the castle?" Caldwell the Shadow easily replied.

"How did you...? I'm away from the castle because a ninja named Yamikage took me for information!" Fumu spat to him in shock.

"Madam, please calm down, the more of a scene you create, the harder it is to keep them sleeping." As he spoke he jerked a thumb around behind them._  
_  
Fumu looked around their position. Sure enough, every single Cappy in eyesight were sleeping soundly along the dirt road. Not one of them were awake, aside from them. She looked back at the humanoid who was so carefully keeping Stranger hoisted then, she looked back at the sleeping city. Caldwell looked at her with anticipation, before he shrugged and began walking away again.

"Just a thought, if I can't keep the spell in check, they may be at risk of injury or death. Eh, why do I care, I don't know them." With that said, he brushed it off as he passed through the village.

Behind him, Meta Knight sighed. His friend would never change. The small concoction had been one that Caldwell the Shadow had specifically made after the first war against Nightmare, the War of Lost Wishes, he'd been afraid for his friend's safety. It wouldn't hurt the person who drank it, for the most part, and Stranger was certainly not dead.

Fumu started running to catch up to them, shaking her head as she did so. How dare he put the townsfolk to sleep! And he knew that she lived at the castle! There was something about him that made her wary. She looked at his cloaked back, the faintest gray interwoven throughout the cloth and felt heat rise around her. She looked behind and saw that the Cappies were groggily waking up, some even trying to go back to sleep again. Had she been next to Caldwell she would've noticed the faintest of smiles tug at the corners of his lips.

Fumu noticed how heavily the strange figure before her was limping and she looked for a visible wound that could have inflicted the problem. There werenone and his cloak appeared to be free of blood. She wondered if Meta Knight knew him from his time in the Galaxy Soldier Army, Caldwell the Shadow could have fought alongside Meta Knight for all she knew! She watched as he shifted his weight slightly to make the still unconscious Stranger more comfortable.

She looked at how he made it comfortable for Stranger, but probably even more painful for himself. He cared for Stranger that much was soon evident to her. She knew Stranger, as he'd visited Meta Knight before, often bringing in reports or messages to and from those Meta needed to communicate with. Stranger had been a longtime friend of Meta Knight's and so she had been able to come on a more friendly basis with the mysterious Wanderer. When Nightmare had attacked them the first time, Stranger had been on the front lines of the retaliation against the Dark Lord, but she knew nothing of this 'Shadow'.

As she pondered upon these thoughts, Fumu walked with them as they headed towards the cliffs and was quite puzzled at their change in direction.

"Umm...isn't the castle the other way, Meta Knight?" she asked, looking back at the speck in the distance that was Dedede's castle.

"Yes."

"Well than why are we at the cliffs?"

"You shall see," Meta Knight replied, his voice somewhat altered and distant.

Fumu scowled. Would Meta Knight ever give her a straight answer? Apparentlyit would never happen. Caldwell the Shadow was calmly tapping the side of the cliff in a specific pattern, like some kind of code of entry. Aqua sparks launched themselves off of the mitten-clad hands as they met the surface of the cliff. Caldwell continued tapping it, aqua sparks flying out in a more erratic frenzy. Stranger was propped against the cliff soundly unconscious as the older Wanderer occupied himself to doing the unknown task.

"Ah! Useless piece of junk! Come on, work! " He stated then turned and eyed Meta Knight from over his shoulder, "When was the last time you used this?"

Meta Knight shuffled his feet before giving a straight answer, "Well… not in a good long while I suppose."

"For all the stars in this vast Universe, why did you not?" Caldwell growled as he continued tapping the surface of the cliff.

Finally, the spot he'd been tapping slowly gave way, sinking inwards on the cliff's surface. Fumu watched as the debris of rock and dirt crumbled from above as the doorway opened uncovering a house of metal walls built into the cliff. The narrow tunnel leading to the interior also had been lined with metal and small green lights lined the edges to light the way inside. She stared in awe and wonder when the lights flickered on, revealing more of the elaborate structure within.

"Welcome to one of the few remaining Star Warrior bases! Please step inside and make yourselves at home!" Caldwell cheerfully explained, taking care to hit a small button once everyone was inside and the door covered the entrance once again. With tender concern, he carefully set Stranger down on a couch in the common room. Caldwell knew well Stranger's jealously kept secret and pulled out a blindfold from a hidden pocket, tying it around Stranger's eyes. Then he began to remove the cloak Stranger was never seen without, which startled both Fumu and Meta Knight, as neither had ever seen him devoid of it. He began to wrap bandages around Stranger's many wounds, trying his best to not let anything be too tight or, for that matter, too loose. Fumu turned and saw Meta Knight handing him a wet towel, which Caldwell the Shadow used to clean up the blood.

Fumu looked at the two Wanderers more closely. Caldwell the Shadow had long dirty blond hair that reached down to his shoulders, which several strands were sticking out of his hood. He kept his curved blades sheathed at his shoulders, and he was wearing a Sapphire encrusted bracelet. Aqua sparks leaped off of his clothes every now and then, and his cloak hung close to his shoulders. Underneath his cloak he seemed to be wearing a dark gray tunic and smoky colored leggings. She noted how when he placed the vial back into the fabric, he seemed to place it on the right side. The belt he wore also had a whip tied to it, near where he had stashed the small bottle. When he moved some strands of his hair from his line of sight, she saw that he wore a ruby stud as an earring. He also leaned on the couch at times for support, but he seemed to be more concerned with Stranger at the moment.

She looked back at Stranger, not believing that she was seeing him without his cloak. Stranger's hair fell just past his chin, and he wasn't sleeping at all peacefully. His chin was scruffy, but the blindfold kept her from seeing into his eyes. His quiver had been removed, as had his dagger and rarely used swords. Stranger had a cord wrapped in a crisscrossing pattern on his left arm, and he wore a large belt over his waist. He had long fingerless gloves that he used for archery. She noted that Caldwell had removed Stranger's shoes but he had not removed his own. Finally a question that had so far been contained slipped out of her lips.

"How did this base get here?" Fumu suddenly burst in question.

The two men exchanged glances before Caldwell turned towards her and cleared his throat.

"Well you see...70,000 years ago this place was a barren landscape, one that Nightmare planned to make his own. The Galaxy Soldier Army took back this planet before he could take it over entirely and defended Popstar until they had to leave after we launched a siege on their main fortress. Most of the Demon Beasts that settled here were not suited to the desert-like climates-"

"-But...Caldwell, we are a lush and green environment...nothing shows we ever had desert." Fumu said in disagreement.

"Ah...that is where you are wrong. Popstar is a relatively new name for this planet, as it used to be called Candle Desert. The one species that was the most capable of adapting to the desert extremes was a race that we prefer to call Magma Panthera. You have already met a Panthera and I believe her name was Wolfwrath, Correct?" He waited for her to nod her understanding before continuing on with his explanation, "Yes, they were some of the only beings that could live in those climates. The Star Warriors had to fight off the demons and few of the ones that did fight, survived, but then, not much of the Panthera survived in any case. And that, madam, is why you have a base on the side of this weathered-down mountain."

His long winded explanation left her speechless. Fumu still didn't know whether or not he was a Star Warrior, but at least he gave her some form of an explanation. Meta Knight hadn't even bothered to tell her the technical name for the Demon Beast, just that it was dangerous. She looked back at him and saw how his hands gripped his sword, how his head would often be inclined slightly in Stranger's direction, and knew how worried he was for his fellow Wanderer's well being.

She watched as Stranger's back arched again before he slumped back down in an unnatural slumber. Fumu looked towards the metal walls for comfort and distraction. The walls were not at all empty, two heavy bookcases covered one wall, a map on the next, and several pictures on the remaining one. She walked over to the pictures and saw one that had been ripped down the middle. She fingered the back of it, but there was no way to get inside the frame. She turned to the bookcase and looked at the thick leather bindings packed closely together on the shelves. One in particular caught her attention, '_Warriors Arise and Nighttime's Cool Breeze.' _Seeing that the two other occupants in the room were busy, she pulled it off the shelf and prepared to read the heavy volume, which was her healthy habit.

"Curious one, aren't you? I will be taking that." Fumu watched as a hand came down and plucked the volume from her hands. Caldwell the Shadow silently placed it higher on the shelf, and even though his back was facing her, she could feel the sadness that radiated off of him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Let's not keep our host waiting shall we? Guards, take them to their new quarters." Customer Service grinned, they were in for a whole, new world of pain. The guards grabbed the knights by their arms and harshly unlocked the chains. They then dragged them away as four more guards performed the same with Kirby and Bun.

"Heh...prepare for pain tomorrow young challengers, you'll need your sleep." And with that threat said, Customer Service waddled away, he'd have to report to Nightmare.

"_Yes my servant?"_

"They have been taken to the 'guest' rooms. The knights' armor shall be removed at dawn tomorrow."

"_Good, all is going according to plan. Thassilia would have been proud."_

Customer Service nodded, that demon beast was never his mother, his father had been brainwashed into marrying her!

"_Keep your thoughts to your self, if you care about their lives."_

""Y-yes sir!" He slowly backed away, thankful that he still had his life.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**that quote was from Henry Ford.**

**I would like to give a special thanks to Sweey for fixing up Stranger and Beta-reading, and MetaKnight4ever for also Beta-reading! I would also like to thank all of my reviewers, who gave me the drive to continue!**

**If you really enjoyed it, or noticed something I didn't catch please tell me in a review. I can't read minds you know!**


	10. Visions of a Darker Sky

**Yet another chapter of Mirrored Eyes! For some reason I got poetic when I wrote this chapter... You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I have never owned the Kirby franchise and I don't really plan to. All I do is write a story using the characters for fun, is that too much harm? **

**Now with that said... I present to you Chapter 10!**  
**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Caldwell gazed at the book in his hands and then carefully slid it higher on the shelf. She could not see it. No one would ever see it again. That book belonged to several comrades and held many secrets.

He looked back at Fumu, her eyes boring into his. Stranger's moans of pain were dying down and his reckless slumber was growing more peaceful. Meta Knight was pressing a cool rag to Stranger's forehead, who was murmuring quietly to himself in what sounded like gibberish to Fumu. She glanced up at Caldwell and it was obvious that he could understand every word of the unknown language that was passing from Stranger's lips. It was beautiful, almost silky to hear, somehow flowing like a river of rapid waters.

Caldwell began to walk toward the common room then he hastily placed his hand against the wall. Caldwell winced and felt the cool of the wall once more against his hand. His leg was almost unbearable at times but it was an old wound and it was something he'd have to live with.

Sighing he fingered the wall until he came across a small scratch, and then he pulled on it until it swung open. Dust filled his eyes and nose and he mentally cursed his allergies. Holding back a pressing sneeze, he pulled out a long sapphire topped staff. The polished oak of the wood was just as it had been more than 50,000 years ago. He gripped it, reassured, and walked more steadily back to the main room.

"Shadow...I thought you got rid of that?" Meta Knight asked.

"I did and I didn't. I got rid of it when you were 30,000 years of age, that doesn't mean I have to forget about it," Caldwell easily replied. The aged and ancient oak still stood sturdy and strong even after the long years it had endured, guiding him with ease over the hard floor. The sapphire tip was comforting in his gloved hands as he looked about the small base. Stranger gasped for breath behind him, a sharp sound that broke the silence.

"Meta, the poison is almost out of his system, you know what to do," Caldwell murmured softly to his masked friend.

Meta Knight nodded in response and looked back at his comrade. Caldwell hadn't had that staff out for a long time and even now Meta Knight could see the brief flashes of agony before it would quickly be righted. Even after all these years, Caldwell hated to show any sign of weakness. Meta watched as Stranger inhaled sharply, his hand automatically going to his dagger.

Abruptly, Stranger leapt up, placing the dagger against Meta Knight's chest in a series of blinding and fluid motions. The Wanderer's muscles were taut yet loose, ready to fight or flight by whatever means called upon him.

"And you are?" he asked, jutting the dagger closer to Meta's armored chest.

"It is Meta Knight, Stranger. Now remove the knife, you know it's against code," Caldwell's deep, slightly accented voice rang out. It was a strange mixture of British and Irish, but it still sounded mystical nonetheless. He approached Stranger, stepping out of the shadows as he did so.

"Remember me?" Caldwell asked. He kept out of the direct range of the dagger, but he also didn't turn to the offensive. He was mildly defensive and his grip on his staff was a little tighter than usual, but other than that, he looked moderately casual about his approach. He kept his back facing away from Stranger and he kept his hood down. Stranger's eyes flashed green, before sinking back into the yawning shadow from the hood he always wore.

Stranger reluctantly slid the dagger back into its pouch, seeming glare at both Meta Knight and Caldwell. He brushed off his gloved hands, turned his head, and looked unswervingly at Caldwell. Stranger's unseen gaze lingered on the staff before he turned and stepped back from Meta Knight.

"Stranger, you're back!" Fumu shouted, happily going over and hugging him. Stranger stood rigid, before he placed his hand awkwardly onto her back. He then took a step back, his hood once more over his face, the blindfold tied to its rightful place on his belt. The corner of his mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile before it resumed the usual emotionless line that he wore day by day. His head again inclined towards the staff, but this time he held Caldwell's gaze as well. Caldwell didn't back down and he held the gaze, almost trance-like.

Fumu watched as both of them moved in a slightly defensive stance, each holding the other's unwavering gaze. They both moved simultaneously, like lions stalking their prey, as they grabbed their weapons, still circling each other.

In monotone they started saying the same lines at each other, still circling, and still holding their weapons ready.

"_When darkness falls over the shattered soul, one shall live the other shall not. A third being will be used as a living sacrifice, imprisoned since birth. When time's lengthy flow comes to a halt, only one can use it to an advantage. A lock will realize its worth, and a light over all. A constant struggle before all is resolved__**," **_their voices blended till it sounded like a haunted melody. They stopped circling, but remained in defensive positions, still holding the others gaze.

Caldwell shook his head and blinked, slipping his curved sword back into its sheathe as he did so, after a moment Stranger followed his lead.

The entire time Fumu had watched them in awe. They had been poised to attack or defend and yet they had circled in an almost dance-like form. Their movements had been so graceful but filled with such malevolence that she could feel it radiating off them. She watched as they slowly rearranged themselves into more informal stances. She felt rather composed then saw Caldwell's shoulders sag, and he began to pitch forwards. A rush of ominous wind from an unknown origin blew her hair forwards as Stranger quickly caught his master.

"Shadow!" Meta Knight took a step forwards, his voice escalating with worry.

Fumu saw Caldwell's body wilt more and heard his gasp of pain. His eyes snapped open, but they were not the usual royal purple. His eyes had turned glassy and cat-like, they were glazed over and he seemed to be staring at a place just above her shoulder.

'_Crack!'_

Meta Knight rushed forward and was stopped by Stranger who looked just as alarmed as his masked friend.

"Relax, I didn't do it. He's having a vision again. We almost certainly won't get him out of it for an hour or so," Stranger reassured. He looked back over his shoulder, where Caldwell lay unmoving on the cool floor. The frown Stranger now wore only seemed to deepen as he looked away from his master.

Fumu looked at the scene unfolding in front of her, sure she didn't trust Caldwell the Shadow, but that was no excuse for her not to be worried about him. Something had cracked and it clearly had upset Meta Knight, and though he tried not to show it, Stranger as well.

Caldwell was shaking uncontrollably, and he was a great deal paler than usual.

"What was that cracking sound?" She asked, looking back at Caldwell as she did so.

Stranger and Meta Knight exchanged glances and Fumu came upon a sense of déjà vu. It was almost a mirror image to when Caldwell had explained why there was a base in the cliff side.

Stranger awkwardly cleared his throat after another span of uncomfortable silence.

"Fumu...that crack was his rib. Whenever he has visions they usually bring harm to his body by the stress it causes or because he is injured within the vision. We're lucky that it's only a rib right now...usually the injuries he sustains are far worse than that."  
Fumu looked at Shadow again, then to the staff, before resting on Shadow once more. He limped so heavily and now she knew that he had painful visions that usually ended up bringing harm to his own self. She knew now that he knew both Meta Knight and Stranger, he even seemed to be on friendly terms to them, but was he to be trusted? Could she possibly rely on him as she did Stranger and Meta Knight?

Fumu watched as aqua sparks danced around his bracelet before they were absorbed by his skin. It was a complex pattern of mixing colors and where the sparks would land, they went into a complete frenzy.  
From where she could see through the open door of the base, the pulsing cloud overhead gave way, letting loose a downpour of rain over Dreamland. Fumu watched as the sparks lessened in number until she could only see a dim spark every now and then.

"Hmm...must be an important vision, I haven't seen his aura react so violently in so long a time...have you, Meta Knight?" Stranger asked, while he carefully rolled Caldwell onto his left side.

"Not in a long while. Fumu, what is troubling you?" Meta responded. His gaze locked onto the girl's.

"It just seems that even after only meeting him... he gets the worst end of the stick..." She trailed off and looked at Meta Knight, the light seeming to get brighter as she did so.

"Yes. You are right. Caldwell the Shadow has been through a lot over the years," She watched as his eyes turned a glowing green, "He...has almost died purposefully on a number of occasions...that is, until he met Drifter."

"He met... Drifter?"

"Drifter is the chief of the Wanderers' Order. The chief showed him compassion and kindness, probably the first he'd seen in a long time. Caldwell began to learn the way of the Wanderer and even though he wasn't a true member of the Wanderers' Order, he was accepted like a brother. He soon was apprenticed by Stranger and together, they accomplished many perilous missions."

"But...?"

"His father caught up to him again. I am not at the liberty to say anything more on this subject, Fumu. If you seek answers, you'll just have to wait until your answers are given." With that said he walked back over to Stranger and began speaking in hushed tones with the Wanderer.

Fumu sighed and looked back at the bookshelf before shaking her head and walking over to the Knight and the Wanderer. She watched as Stranger made sure that Caldwell wouldn't move much from his position, and calmly begin prodding other areas of his comrade.

"Stranger, what is the damage?"

"Two broken ribs and his wrist was also damaged. His aura also has reached critical levels and I can't get a reading on his emotional state," the Wanderer answered. Then he glanced at his comrade and he felt a rush of air escape his lungs and leave his mouth.

Stranger looked at Caldwell again, before he busied himself sharpening his daggers, honing their already razor edges.

Caldwell jerked and his eyes flew open, exposing the sharp purple beneath. He gripped his shoulder blade before looking Stranger in the eye. He struggled to stand, one hand pressed against his side, but Stranger gently pushed him back down. Caldwell continued to struggle, glaring at Stranger the whole time. He vigorously stood up against Stranger and grabbed his staff from its position on the floor.

"Cal-er...Shadow, your wrist is broken and so are your ribs! With all due respect, sir, I don't think you should be moving so soon..."Fumu trailed off. She watched as his broken hand gripped his staff and his glare pierced through her soul.

"And you speak so rudely to your elders! I've been through worse; a couple of broken bones are not going to stop me from ripping Nightmare's heart and soul utterly. What makes you so special that you think you can tell me what I can and cannot do? Surely, you should apprehend that I can certainly care for myself and that I don't need a kid to do it for me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out a way to avenge my friend. Thank you so very much for your _concerning _thoughts about my welfare," he growled, before he stood up to his full height. He turned around and strode out of the room. Fumu stared at the place where he'd been just moments before. She looked at the masked knight and the hooded Wanderer behind her, and noted how Meta Knight's eyes had turned a darker shade of gold and how Stranger gripped his double bow harder. She watched as they sighed at the same time before grumbling about temperaments.

They looked at each other, their gazes fierce and fixed.

"Well, Meta Knight, do you want to check on him or should we let him cool off for a minute?" Stranger asked; his gaze moved to the door that Shadow had used when he'd exited.

"We should let him cool down. It would be best."

"Agreed."

Fumu looked back at the door and then at the cloak that still lay on the hard, wooden, table. He'd said something about avenging a friend, but he also seemed troubled about something that she couldn't see. He also seemed to be aggravated by her trying to help him, which only made her even more curious. She watched the two behind her before she slipped away on light feet. She went to where she thought Caldwell the Shadow had gone. His staff was propped up against the door to the outside and dirt freshly marked the entryway. Fumu looked around until she saw a small button halfway hidden beneath a photographed document. Her hand wavering slightly, she pressed the button and watched as the stone once more moved away to show the glistening ocean that the cliff overlooked. The azure water sparkled in the light, Caldwell easily skipping stones across its surface. Beside him looked to be a small game board with several pieces scattered over its top. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail by a tight, black cord.

Fumu silently approached him, being as quiet as possible. His head didn't even turn as she sat down next to him and he continued skipping the flat stones.

The game board had several figures over it, many she recognized as having the Star Warrior's symbol placed on them. The others had a symbol she couldn't recognize, but most of them were dark colored and seemed to emit a different sensation than that of the Star Warrior's.  
His dark colored tunic rustled in the wind, and for the first time since she'd been out here, he looked down at her.

"I'm... fine, Fumu, you needn't to worry about Me."

"Quit lying to your self, Shadow. What did you mean that you had to 'avenge a friend?' You made it sound like someone died!"

"They might as well have. Listen...about what I said earlier...I wasn't myself so will you forgive me?"

"Only if you tell me what it is that's going on."

"As you wish. That vision I had...I think it was trying to tell me something about a friend of mine and his apprentice..."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is...that I think Sir Thorn, Emit, and Edge were captured and are being led to Nightmare for a sickening event he prefers to call 'The Games'. I don't think that he will let them survive without tortuous results... especially Thorn…"She felt her eyes widen as he trailed off, looking her in the eye the whole time he'd talked.

"D-did you say Edge? T-that can't be! I-if h-he's tortured I-I don't k-know what I'd d-d-do!" Fumu cried out, hot tears spilling out of her eyes and landing on the sand below her. She wouldn't be able to bear if he was killed or tortured into insanity. They had just been exchanging letters! It had happened so suddenly and she felt a fresh wave of tears flow from her eyes. She crumpled to her knees and sobs wracked her body. She heard the sound of the ocean die out as she felt herself succumb to the despairing darkness of hopelessness. Then she felt something rest on her shoulder, opening her eyes she saw Caldwell standing over her, his eyes no longer cold and hard, but now they were warm and understanding, trusting almost, though not quite.

"Hey... he can still be saved...don't get so depressed when visions are not that reliable three quarters of the time, 'kay? He has Sir Thorn and Emit with him, and then he has us, when we depart. Just...please don't get disheartened because of what I have told you, I already have met a woman who does that. If anything... Edge will survive too see your smiling face one last time." He gave her a warm smile, and gently squeezed her shoulder before he let go.  
"If they ask, you didn't receive this from me." The next thing he did made her eyes widen drastically as he handed her a carved, wooden, wolf that was howling at the moon.

"It's beautiful...where did you get it?"

"Sorry miss, but I keep my secrets. Now stop crying and be strong. I hate it when people cry; it's the ultimate sign of weakness." Just like that, his eyes turned harsh and cold again, but now they held a confident spark that so far hadn't been there before. He straightened his back and briskly limped back to the cliff's face, briefly placing his palm on the stone before he sighed and began tapping it like that first time.

"For all the stars in the Universe, this thing needs to have its code re-entered. Would it kill this stupid piece of junk to work properly once in a while?" He seethed at the cliff face. Fumu noticed in slight shock as she realized he wasn't holding the side of his chest or avoiding using his wrist like he had been a short while ago.

"Your wrist...and your ribs, don't they hurt?"

"My-? Oh that, I am a naturally fast healer and I trained slightly in the Amasi Warrior's branch of medical related spells, "Caldwell looked behind him after he said this and Fumu felt her blood run cold when she saw his narrowed eyes, far harsher than she'd ever seen them.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Galacta Knight swiftly avoided the Wanderer's gaze as he entered the base, feeling set of eyes from another present being. The other set of eyes were darker and filled with a far more vile meaning than that of his own, but he couldn't pinpoint its exact location.

He wielded his lance and headed towards the ancient tree of the forest, Acore. Something wasn't right, and he knew that he would have to act soon, or else the seal would snap and everything would go straight into chaos.

The knight walked away from the base, forever Caldwell's scathing gaze imprinted into his mind.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Today was the day that their armor would be removed, today was the day that that they would hear screams of agony from other prisoners as they were sent to be slaughtered in front of a roaring Demon Beast-filled crowd.

Blade and Sword looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. The armor was what defined them, made them more than just the common foot soldiers or rogues, and they were about to lose it all. Every hard-earned status they'd established with that armor was about to be ripped away from them, taken without warning, and this whole time Kirby and Bun would be forced to watch and endure the games.

They tried not to struggle as the guard forcefully removed their sense of accomplishment, bit by excruciating bit.

Blade's mouth guard was the first to go, soon followed by the rest of the light green armor. Sword's slid off next, his glowing yellow eyes shut against the guards' leers and taunting jeers.

"Worthless! Just another pair of slightly skilled Ivoians! Now what will you do? You don't even have anything to differentiate yourselves from others around you! Scum, I don't even know why my lord even bothered." He snarled, leaving with the armor afterwards.

Blade and Sword were soon thrown into the same room as many others who would face their death the next day. All of them were caged, chained to a wall, and had also been stripped of their dignity. Soon they too were forced into the shackles and locked into cages. Throughout the night, they heard Nightmare's insane cackles, never stopping and filling them with a sense of ultimate dread.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**So, what do you think? No references this time...although I did stop myself from putting 'I pity the fool' in there somewhere.**

**Enjoy the site; you know why it's out there, so use it for that purpose! Thank Sweey, and Metaknight4ever, this chapter wouldn't have been so accurate without it!**


	11. An Eagle Soars

Caldwell sighed and brought his gaze back to the things in front of him, his old acquaintance could wait for the moment. He gripped his staff tighter as his thoughts returned to more important matters. He winced and brought his hand up to his shoulder once more. He knew the seal was weakening and was doing so at a rapid pace. It wouldn't be long before it snapped and there was no telling what would happen once that deed was done.

He brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes, a seemingly harmful gesture, but he watched as information slid past his closed lids.

Ah, so that was what he was up against.

He let his brow furrow more as he examined the information at his disposal. It wasn't good, but it was convenient to him. Any knowledge was valuable, as the more you knew the more control you have over a situation. His fears were confirmed. Emit, Edge, and Thorn had been captured. His sensitive senses told him that they had fought a battle on a planet known as Floria and there they had been overwhelmed thus resulting in their imprisonment.

His gaze swept over his surroundings before he resumed his wondering. If they were captured, that meant his vision had been true.

Caldwell let a small sigh escape his lips as he thought of the dangers and the benefits of being a psychic. For one, he had information at his clearance but it cost him energy and aura. For another, he could learn spells at an extraordinary rate, with much will and force to cast them. He could see visions, but they weren't always true and they physically cost him. His father had forcefully honed his 'gift' to truly outstanding levels. Of course, it had cost Caldwell greatly but his father had not cared.  
"Caldwell," Meta Knight's voice broke him out of his reverie, causing him to start slightly.

"Hmm?" He kept his voice calm, keeping his emotions out of his eyes. Meta Knight and Stranger could both read him like a book if he let his emotions show in his eyes, he was just as talented an actor as the next guy was.

"You are healed, I imagine. You had quite the vision, so Stranger and I were wondering what it was about. Would you mind indulging us?" Meta Knight stated, searching Caldwell's hidden gaze.

Caldwell felt his throat tighten. If he told them...would they doubt him? Or would it cause more harm than good? His trusted staff suddenly felt uncomfortable within his grasp and his resolve wavered slightly. He shifted his gaze from Meta to Stranger then let his eyes rest on Fumu's. She wouldn't tell, at least he hoped she wouldn't.

"Caldwell, if there is something you need to say, say it," Stranger's voice came out colder than usual and he wondered what was bothering the Wanderer.  
"Ah...well you see... I saw Sir Anduin, Thorn, Emit, and Edge being ambushed and...,"he cleared his throat once more before continuing, "They were captured in time for the Games ...Nightmare wished for them all to be annihilated on sight. I tried to stop it-them from advancing to the point of attack, but I was only an astral projection...I could do nothing. I apologize for not being able to perform my duty." He hung his head, not bearing to look at his comrades' faces. He was a failure. He could do nothing to defend those closest to him.

"Caldwell, why did you hide this from us? We should contact Drifter right away! This is not a matter we tread lightly upon! Your visions have saved many lives before, they shall save lives again," Stranger rebuked. Then the Wanderer dissolved into the shadows, emerging again directly behind Caldwell.

Shadow turned, nodding as he did so. Stranger was right. Caldwell's visions had saved people before. Of course, that was only after he'd come back to the light after his father had sold him to Nightmare.

"...You are right. I shall not hide things from you anymore. I will get my effects ready and prepare my mind so that I can talk to Drifter, but first I had a toilsome time landing here, my star ship needs repairs to be done. I'm sure she doesn't like mending it on her own..." his voice trailed off before he looked into their eyes cheerfully, the cloak still abandoned on the floor.

Stranger and Meta Knight looked at Shadow and then exchanged glances. They both asked simultaneously, "Who is on your star ship, Caldwell?"

"Eheheheh...you'll meet her. She prefers to do her own introductions and I want to keep my sanity," He smiled after he said this and, for once in his life, it was genuine. She had always been different from everyone in this cosmic Universe. He felt heat rise up around him as he once again donned his cloak...what was that? It was strange, foreign even, but Shadow easily shook the feeling off, they had work to do.

"When we get there, you are going to project yourself to Drifter or am I mistaken?" Stranger muttered nonchalantly. He looked back at his fellow Wanderer and shook his head slightly. He'd always been distant to facts when they came to him, but that was how Caldwell had always been.

Caldwell responded with a quick nod before he grabbed a leather-bound journal from the uppermost shelf of the bookcase. He slid it under his arm and gestured for them to follow him out the door. His staff continually thumped the ground but he kept walking ahead of the small party. Trees passed by and the dirt road switched to a carpet of grass. The sun steadily went lower into the sky, and not before long, it was dark.

"D-don't you think we should stop? We've been walking non-stop all day!" Fumu asked, "How can you see with it being so dark?"

"Nonsense, I can see perfectly fine and a little walking won't hurt you," Caldwell shot back. Indeed, he could see every fine detail, from the bark on the trees to the individual blades of grass. This capability of seeing in the dark of night was what had gotten him the nickname 'Shadow' in the first place.

He looked over his shoulder and sighed. Fumu hadn't been trained for military purposes; he would stop.

"Obviously, you can't go on much further. We'll stop here for the night, but I'm waking you up at dawn."

"Thank...you..." Needless to say, Fumu slept well that night.

Stranger on the other hand, did not. He knew that the person sent after him was still out there. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see that hummingbird blade darting toward him and he would hear the pleading screams of the people he'd been forced to kill in the past, but overall he saw the laughing face of Shadox Veroxin. Over to his left, Caldwell the Shadow was silhouetted against the silvery night light. Stranger observed that his comrade was staring at the moon before Caldwell shifted his weight and looked unswervingly at Stranger.

"I guess I'm not the only one who couldn't get to sleep tonight, huh?" Caldwell muttered, his voice carrying over the breeze.

"No, I suppose not," Stranger replied. It would be a long night for the both of them.

Stranger watched as Caldwell pulled out the journal and started to leaf through its yellowed pages.

They sat in comfortable stillness until the slightest allusion of sunshine peaked over the distant horizon.

Caldwell smirked and closed the journal before he went over and shook Meta Knight awake, "Did you sleep well? You were certainly having a good dream by the way your eyes look this morning."

In response to this statement, Meta Knight quickly turned his head before realizing that he was wearing his mask, making it a dead giveaway to the blush lingering underneath. He shook his head; he couldn't be thinking of his wife at the moment, they had more pressing matters at hand.

Caldwell walked over to Fumu, and noticing how deep asleep she was, he sighed and began to carry her bridal-style. He shifted his weight so as to not jostle her and started walking in the same course as they had been following the day before.

Stranger picked up the staff and the journal, as he knew Shadow preferred to have them with him. He watched as Caldwell masked his limp and continued at a steady pace. Pain would flash in his eyes, but the warrior kept walking.

"You are a fine man, Shadow," Stranger muttered softly to himself. Caldwell would care for others no matter what the cost, probably because of his own low self-esteem.

Caldwell continued walking, he would have to get back to his accomplice before she blew her top and left without him. He may be an Amasi warrior but that didn't mean he could fly! After all, Amasi Warriors were merely people who had a certain spark within them and after rigorous training; they could perform a variety of tasks of the supernatural. And even then, they had limited prospective and certain spells could exhaust them with repeated use.

They continued at their brisk pace, an hour having only passed before Fumu began to stir.

She was warm, much warmer than she had been the night before. A stiff softness surrounded her and she was rocked more abruptly to one side than another. Light filtered through her closed lids, painting the insides of them a golden yellow. She felt a soft rumble to the tune of words and the voice was vaguely familiar. She struggled to open her eyes, now suspicious of her current conditions.

Her eyelids fluttered open and she was met with the glazed look of Caldwell the Shadow. Fumu could see under his hood from her position and noted how he would shift his gaze constantly to scan the terrain around him, never staying at the same spot for too long. Sparks continued to dance across his skin, even as he walked. The shadows that covered his face seemed menacing, even alive, as he shifted his gaze downward to Fumu.

"About time you decided to wake up." That was not his typical joking and cynical manner; he had said in a much more deadpan way than usual.

She looked at him again and this time she saw the bags underneath his eyes, the glazed look in his purple gaze, the way he held his shoulders high but let them droop ever so slightly. These all painted a picture that expressed how weary Caldwell was. The sparks that leaped off his clothes were subtly duller in appearance and color. If anything, she would say that they had lost their energy, the life drained out of them. With a start, she realized that he looked like a walking corpse. She flinched and Caldwell sighed for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Would you like down, Miss Fumu, or am I to hold you the whole way there?"

She spluttered after he said that. His chest rumbled again in dark laughter as he set her down, his eyes deep within the shadows of his hood, covered by locks of his hair. He moved one of his bangs and she realized his eyes were not purple anymore; they were a dark and bloody red. He blinked and she watched as eye color slowly changed back from bloody red to a shade of magenta until finally returning to their natural color of purple. He looked at her once more, something deep and wise underneath his outwardly inquisitive gaze, before they continued walking in the light of the morning sun. Then he seemed to bend the shadows around himself and beckoned for Stranger to hand him his staff.

"If you wouldn't mind, my leg is killing me." He grumbled stiffly. Stranger looked at the staff before he handed it to the Shadow and he too noticed the change in his friend's behavior.

Stranger of the Emerald Heart merely shrugged at the undulation of manner, Caldwell would tell them when the time was right and until then he would simply have to wait.

They stepped into a clearing where a small aircraft was latent, smoke curling faintly from its wounds and pieces of it lay strewn about the small grove.

"What did you DO to my ship, Eagle?" Caldwell asked as soon as he saw the atrocious damage inflicted upon the machinery.

"What did I do? I am repairing OUR ship, just like I was told to. Rabbit, the ship is almost completely totaled; you should have driven it more carefully." A fully armored star warrior retorted as she stepped out from behind where she had been examining the hull.

"What? You were the one who was driving at the time, Eagle! And I only left because you insisted that I go and find Meta Knight or Stranger since apparently I am inadequate to handle the refurbishing of my own ship! I would've been back sooner but it's a solid day's walk from here to the cliffs and somebody snapped my cane in half. Besides, you said that she would be ready by the time I got back, that you could accomplish it."

Eagle rolled her eyes and sighed crossly, "I can accomplish it, I was just...training! Yes, that is what I was doing! Your cane was snapped because of you! I had nothing to do with it! What makes you think-!"

"-If you were training as you claim, show me. Prove to me that you've enhanced significantly from your 'training' as opposed to my ship being repaired. I'll tell you this only once. I'm not going easy on you this time." He finished that with a cold and ruthless smile, a smile that Fumu felt was all too credible.

"...well, erm...Hey-"

She was cut off as he lunged one of his scimitars at her, his steps once more dance-like.  
'Eagle's' steps mingled with Caldwell's as her common sense was replaced by a cool, irrational bloodlust. He would pay, what with making her look like a complete fool and all.

She lunged and he brushed her assault with a flick of his wrist, then she attempted trick him with a false molesting to his right, but he always kept his guard up. He brought one of his swords into a large over-head cut before he swiftly lunged with the other sword. Eagle jumped back, cursing herself for forgetting how focused he could be on any battlefield. Caldwell swung around after she blocked and placed a single scimitar at her exposed throat, the other ready to strike.

"You trained, huh? Don't lie to me, Eagle. Next time, try to land a mark on me." His swords slid back into their sheaths, the shadows dimming slightly in intensity. He walked to the main part of the ship, shaking his head and muttering to himself all the while. Eagle huffed as she stomped to the place Caldwell was examining.

"Vain yaiw non vara vavor, I wyair, I yaiw hoiwn ovev hara ainyay..."

"I know. 'I aimn ndomney vor yaoi; loui voryard no daiv,' what- no! Why, is this written on the Scarlet Wolf? I have no enemies who can teleport, do you?"

"No, I don't." The individual known as Eagle shrugged and slid underneath the ship, the sounds of metal on metal soon following.

Caldwell sighed resignedly, pulled out a few tools from the toolbox, and began to start working on the engine.

Fumu looked at the ship again, he said it was small, but it was larger than three of her, and it was long and narrow. It appeared that it would comfortably house up to nine people and still have room for more.

"Um, why did you call this ship small…? It looks pretty big to me!" She blurted out.

Caldwell turned toward her before he spoke, "That is because this is a stealth ship. Normally I would not have dared to lengthen it as you see it now, but I had no time...I mean, I was in a rush and I forgot to take the other part off!" He finished simply, nodding almost imperceptibly to his partner beside him. Stranger watched him like a hawk, before he allowed a slight lift of his shoulders, shooting Caldwell a dastardly look before he did so.

"Ah...the rooms are still usable, we just have to find some cloaked parts, fix the engine, and repair everything else. So please, make yourself comfortable!" Caldwell muttered with much optimism.

Fumu frowned, he had seemed unapproachable, crestfallen even, but now he was assuring them that everything would be okay and to make themselves comfortable. Something was unsettling about him, she decided. Then it hit her with a two-ton force, the shadows around him had dispersed, his eyes looked bright, cheery, and there was no sign of fatigue or depression that had been so evident when she'd woken in his arms that morning.

"Vay air soey no san wuwvindioiw, yaoi uinoya. Raivin, yaoi ndain non hid avaryvey," whispered Eagle, low enough that not even Stranger would hear the spoken words.

"I uioya. In iw hoiwn... vay yaori no' mnoik aind I do non nad vamn yaoriey avan mnor in ai nimn of yair. Vay yail voisoir in' oin avanoiaily, I woivow, aind yahara vain haivenor, I soiaw I yail haiv no hov vor va vawn."

"Yoi hov? Air yoi woir yoir viwknenor air non huiwn aivoaindney yoir vhywindail ndondinion? Do yoi non vinui vay yail yaondev yahy yai haoyael oiv yaivoin yairney? On nov ovo nan yoi air vrovaivly on' ovo va vawn vilonor I uinoya, vay yail vrovaivly va yaondevey yahy yoi ndrailha laindel."

"And so what if they do? Let them wonder, I am not to answer," Caldwell replied smoothly. Every point she'd brought up had been true, of course. He would need to be careful; he would need to be very careful.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

A figure grinned from his perch within the swirling, pulsing gas that surrounded him. He had planted the seeds of doubt, and strewn them over their unsuspecting minds. Their doubt would water the newly planted seeds, and he would wait for them to grow. They were suspicious of an ally. That alone would be a key component to their downfall, he mused to himself. He would not need to come to them, instead with doubting themselves and each other, he would wait for his prey to become weary, and only then would he attack. His wings beat behind him, constantly reminding him of his own existence. He would do his job, and he would do it gladly. Nightmare missed his two favorite puppets after all, and even then, the figure knew that a father would enjoy tormenting his son for a little while longer. It was all coming to place, soon blood would pass between his lips and he would taste the luxury.

He grinned and licked his lips in implicit anticipation; they would twist themselves against each other. He fingered the locks over his left eye, and shook his head, there would be a time to release his full power but now was not that time. Seffali would return to the king of darkness' control and he would do it willingly or not. He casually fingered the ornately carved dagger, lining it up with his targets hearts and he once more licked his lips before he continued his silent watching.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Acore had been difficult to find, to say the least. The old and wisdom-filled tree had evaded him at every possible turn until Galacta Knight had stumbled into a dull clearing, ready to give up his quest. That was when he realized that Acore was standing right in front of him, for all his worth looking amused. The price to save his vessel was far more planned than he'd originally thought which forced him to have to re-think the whole strategy. It had been tiresome and strenuous but he'd found the tree.

"Acore, guardian of this forest, I request your knowledge and assistance."

He waited, kneeling stupidly to a tree, as Acore mulled things over yet again. And just what exactly was the tree mulling over? Most likely, the fact that he'd been addressed in the formal manner of a knight and the fact that another being, other than the animals of the forest, knew where he lay.

"What...do you...seek?"

It took all of his training to not stick his lance through the guardian's roots and then twist it painfully. Of all the wise things for it to say, he was graced with a mere four words? It was a far cry from how well the tree had been when he had been young, very much so indeed. Galacta Knight simply resolved to himself grating his teeth against one another to curb his legendary anger.

"I seek answers. And I seek to speak to the guardian of the night sky, Nova. Will you give me the answers I seek? Or am I to seek elsewhere?"

"Search within yourself and...You will find...ask to a moon and you...will...receive..." The ancient and withered maple responded, his voice slow and weary.

"Thank you, oh great guardian of the forest, for the contribution." He waited until the tree had closed his eyes again before he got up out of his kneeling position. That stupid tree! Riddles made no sense and guardians always spoke in that manner. He'd come for answers only to be disappointed yet again. He glanced down at his lance, then to the tree, before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort. He could burn the worthless pile of firewood later, for now he had to locate the source of that dark aura.

At least he knew that the Scarlet Wolf wouldn't be able to take off for a good two days.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Blade looked around at their surroundings and found a familiar face chained to a wall like they were. His gray-white locks hung past his eyes and his form was limp as he listened for their captors. He'd clearly been in here far longer than they had and so had two other familiar companions. One had his four wings painfully folded in crooked angles behind him while the other, usually emotionless, let restrained tears fall from his sharp, blue eyes.

"Thorn, Emit, Edge! They got you too didn't they?" Blade cried out, causing all eyes to rest upon the unarmored knight.

The oldest of the three he had recognized as Thorn looked up at her and nodded slowly, while Emit slowly shook his head, wincing at the pain derived from his broken wings, Edge merely tried to hide the tears that continued to fall.

"Haven't heard your voice so clear in a long time, Blade," Thorn's voice trembled to Blade in greeting.

Blade replied to that with a simple nod, once again looking around at their surroundings. The knight gave a start of surprise when Bun and Kirby were found chained as well.

"Blade? You're a girl?" Bun asked, for once taking in the unarmoured knight.

"Yes I am a girl, but pl-" she cut off as a guard arrived outside of their cells.

"It is time for all of you to be prepared; the games start in the next day. Let's think that all your training wasn't useless."

Blade felt herself sink after she heard that, but to her surprise, Thorn recomposed himself, straightening his back and pulling back his broad shoulders. Once more, she realized how kingly he could look when he truly needed to, especially now that Edge had stopped his silent sobs. They would all need the courage to go on, even if it meant that they were going to be endlessly tortured within the next week.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Alright! Thorn, Emit, Edge and Stranger belong to Sweey.**  
**Caldwell, 'Eagle', and my character in the clouds are mine.**  
**When Eagle was talking to Caldwell , that was Ivoian; if you want the full details, you can look to Sweey's (she invented the language and translated it for me) story Details of the Mind**  
**No I did not forget about Blade, Sword, Bun, Kirby, Galacta Knight, or anyone else for that matter.**  
**Please enjoy the site!**  
**This chapter is dedicated to my Twin, Nightime Whispers, Sweey, and MetaKnight4Ever.**

**See you next time!**


	12. Betraying the Betrayed

**Alright, in this chapter you get a closer look inside some character's heads, Meta is slightly angsty, and Galacta Knight (as per request) is finally returning to the main climax.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Nintendo/Kirby characters, Athenya, Emit, Edge, Stranger, Thorn, or Humming Bird Blades, I do however own Rephaim, Israphael, Caldwell, Emmaline, and the elusive plot of this story.**  
**Please, by all means, read and ENJOY!**

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Meta Knight was woken by unfamiliar shouts seemingly above him. The floor came into view faster than he had to prepare for, and he found himself rubbing the side at the headache he knew was to come. Caldwell was an excellent pilot, so why had there been so much turbulence from the start? He threw his mask on, tightening the straps to his spauldors, or shoulder pads, which in turn was fastened to his belt and scabbard. He unsheathed the sword of the galaxy, otherwise known as Galaxia, and dashed out of the hall and onto the main deck of the star ship. He dropped his sword back to its sheathe at the scene before him.

"Watch the starboard side, there-easy now! Emmaline, for the last time, get those wings steady! We don't want to crash _again_, now do we? _Meta Knight, grab onto something NOW!"_Caldwell the Shadow had shouted the last part, half seething, half worried for his long-time friend. Meta barely managed to grasp the protective railing on the deck of the ship before it had another nasty bout of turbulence.

Meta Knight now took the time to observe the _Scarlet Wolf'_s deck. As it was such a small ship, the deck was a small section almost directly above the main hall and cockpit, with rails and glass above it to form the sides and ceiling. There were three trapdoors leading down, and one ladder that could be pulled down to go directly to the ground. Some of the more recently applied parts of the hull were blinking in and out of the secrecy cloaking that coated the _Scarlet Wolf. _Several bolts were rusted, but knowing Caldwell, Meta knew that they were still strong.

Turning his red tinted gaze to the Shadow, Meta Knight no longer felt the rough metal against his gloved hands, instead he felt steadied as his feet found the ground.

The Shadow shrugged, feigning a look of innocence. "What do you expect me to say, it's a tight space to get out of and she's learning," He responded to the unspoken question. Meta Knight merely narrowed his eyes, the red tint slowly fading out of his line of vision.

"Now, what do we have here? By the stars in the Universe, Fumu's not supposed to be on this ship! Agh, I guess we'll have to make due. Too bad, not on my head if she's killed," Caldwell seemed to mutter to himself, his cat-like eyes turning a slightly duller shade.

"Captain!" A shout from the cockpit, and Shadow disappeared like his namesake, the trapdoor hitting the deck silently. Meta Knight released a breath he didn't realize he was holding, his gaze falling on the remaining Wanderer on the deck.

"The turbulence on this thing is...horrid,"Stranger muttered.

"I fully agree."

There was silence between them, a silence that could only be accomplished through friendship. Meta Knight felt his eyes wandering, to the small cabinet that Caldwell kept the journal he'd snatched from the base along the cliff side. '_I wonder what would be worth so much to him that he'd hide it from __us. . .'_' he found himself thinking. He knew that Stranger could pick just about any lock given to him, but he would probably not allow his curiosity to rule him.

Sighing, he locked his curiosity back to where it came from and looked at the now almost empty deck. Where had Stranger gone? For now, he was the only being inhabiting the small deck, Caldwell having gone down to the cockpit and Stranger being...well Stranger. Meta Knight shook his head and made his way back into the hall before they could be hit with turbulence again.

When he reached the main hall of the small ship, he found his gaze tinting grey in shock at what he found. Stranger was in front of an easel, his back facing the masked knight. Stranger had a vast palette of colors at his disposal, painting as he was. His eyes were covered by a cream colored strip of cloth, although it seemed he could see perfectly well.

"Stranger...what is it that you are painting?" He made sure not to startle the renowned Wanderer, keeping his voice even and calm.

"Did you not see the storm cloud we were approaching from your time on the deck? I am painting merely what I saw, to make sense of the mystery."

Ah, riddles again, it was always riddles with the Ivoian. The knight knew that that was probably the straightest answer he would receive, even if it was more a curved line than a straight one.

He looked at the painting and found the grey tint returning, it could have been a picture by the almost unseen strokes of the brush. The colors melded into one another, but that technique brought more realism to the painting. Realism he had not seen since Stranger had given a painting as a wedding gift to Meta and his wife, Athenya. Now Athena was resting in her castle, awaiting his return. His friend had taken time out of his busy schedule and had painted him a picture, even when Meta had doubted him most. Now the friend looked at the Wanderer in a new light, no longer doubting the man's capabilities.

Caldwell calmly walked out of the cockpit, his eyes once more hidden from view as his hood was up. His cloak billowed out behind him, the light catching on the pattern sewn with subtly lighter threads, making it known that his cloak was not all greys. The obsidian pendant he wore most times was now comfortably sitting in the hollow of his neck, almost blending with the dreary uniform the rouged Wanderer had taken. His back was straight and stiff, the kind of posture that would normally make you think of a general. Alas, he had only managed to achieve the rank of Captain, and he remained that still. Even though he acted calm, both the Wanderer and the Knight could tell that something had gone wrong.

"Shadow, what is troubling you?" Stranger had placed his brush and paint down when he addressed his former mentor, a sign of the mutual respect between them.

"Oh, nothing. The great hulking cloud that wasn't there last hour certainly doesn't have anything to do with it, nor the fact that my Aura is going haywire. No that most certainly isn't it. The fact that I have not had a single vision and I'm losing Aura at an extraordinary rate doesn't apply either, now does it? How about that I can not project myself to Drifter? Oh no, nothing is wrong! Every thing is just chipper here on the _Scarlet Wolf_."

Just the simple fact that Caldwell had used extreme sarcasm would've been enough to know that indeed, everything he just mentioned was wrong. When coupled with the knowledge that their friend was wearing his hood so that it would cover his eyes and that it sounded as if he had said everything through clenched teeth was enough to make Meta take an involuntary step back and Stranger to look at his former master quizzically underneath his own hood.

Now at that sudden outburst, Meta Knight studied the rouged Wanderer more closely. None of the familiar and memorizing aqua sparks danced across his skin or clothes. His gaze was hidden, yet his slightly tilted head kept his eyes away from their own accusing ones. Even though he held himself military style, both noticed how his shoulders drooped ever so slightly. His clothes were rumpled and hastily thrown on, or perhaps he'd run his hands over the cloth-a habit he'd picked up over the years of harsh training. His feet were placed stiffly apart, not the subtly dance-like way he usually did so. He was paler than normal, so much that it was visible.

Even as Meta Knight made these observations, Stranger stepped forward and placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. Stranger's hand tightened on a specific spot and Shadow pitched forward, his eyes visible-accusing.

"What did you do to Caldwell!" Meta Knight shouted as he turned his red-tinted gaze toward Stranger.

"What did I ever do, Meta? I am looking after my comrades, simply as I always have. He is. . . delusional. The way he sees and _knows _things,you've seen that, and so have I," Stranger hefted Caldwell over his shoulder and started walking down the main hall, disappearing around a corner. After a single moments hesitation, Meta charged after the Wanderer. He turned the corner and...nothing. There was no one there, not even a fingerprint to alert to where Stranger was.

He would not give up, that was against his ingrained ways. He checked the many doors lining the hall, he checked the vents and the area just above the deck. Nothing, he could not find the two Wanderers anywhere.

"Well, looks like I have some explaining to do..."he sighed to himself. After all, who else was to get the message to and from Drifter? Caldwell was the only person he knew who could use astral projection, and now he was gone. It was hopeless-no, _he _was hopeless. He couldn't even keep tabs on his friends, just like what had happened with Jecra.

He looked out the window, the silver sides glinting and shimmering. Then he found himself sliding down the side of the hull, his eyes tinting a dark, cold green. They would wind up just like Jecra, the people close to him always did. Even Garlude met her end through him. Had they not been sent on that mission together, she might have lived, but they had been, and she was gone. Everyone he met were taken, missing in action, or dead. It was all his fault, he knew that much was true. After all, being forced to live with Nightmare always had a downside-never an upside.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Caldwell woke to the sound of rushing water, most likely a spring. He could've cared less. His mind was a dim fog, and he found that he could not get more blessed sleep. He struggled to will it away, noting that no sparks danced across his skin or clothes. He knew that sparks only ceased to exist on him was if his Aura was critically low, a thing he'd never allowed to happen before as it made any of his honed abilities next to useless. He found it hard to function without the energy source, and his sapphire bracelet had no effect what so ever. He could not draw from what he could no longer sense, after all he needed a decent amount of Aura just to draw Aura from another source that could not use it. Even opening his eyes was a battle of strength, a feat he found exhausting.

Now he took the time to watch and observe his surroundings, even from his sitting position he unconsciously blended with his namesake. He spun his head in a slow circle, watching as a roaring stream came into view, then his cloak hanging on a tree, wildflowers dotting the small clearing, and jagged rocks a few meters to his left. Also to his left, it seemed that wherever he was jutted off to a cliff. One entrance, one exit, perfect for holding someone hostage. He knew not where his captive was, but it seemed that they had taken precautions with him.

Caldwell used a gesture now familiar to him-he sighed. Obviously someone had had information on Wanderers, information that he would not let leak anymore so than it already had. Whoever it was needed to be silenced, and he would gladly do so.

His eyes scanned the clearing once more, and he noted that something wasn't right. The shadows were shifting too differently, not even staying to their natural rhythm. He was being watched, no, he was being monitored. He slowly shifted his weight, making sure that he had the small dagger hidden in the folds of his belt, then he stood up and casually walked the perimeter. He touched one of the rocks, drawing a minute amount of blood. Then, he dipped two of his fingers into the coppery liquid, drawing a symbol onto his exposed wrist. He then placed another symbol on top of that one, making sure to keep his wrist out of the view of his captor. There, it was almost complete. He kept his steady pace around the perimeter, fidgeting slightly as one would after waking up in a strange place.

He allowed a small tug a the corners of his mouth when he was done. They would be in for quite a surprise. Not all Ivoians were as they seemed, especially one that knew how to cast runes.

Caldwell gasped as his chest began to burn, inflating with hot air. This particular rune could possibly kill him, or give internal bleeding, but it would keep everything he knew to his grave and kill those within range. The air surrounding him grew in heat, almost too intense to bear. His mouth folded downwards grimly, it would be a suiting end for him. The Sword of the Blue Moon to die in his own fire, just as the Oracle had said. Just as his father had. So far, everyone to own the name Erasmus had died in flames, he would continue his family legacy. He would also die in flames.

His eyes closed as the heat swelled in waves, the pain within his chest next to unbearable. He brought his arm to his mouth, turning to face the shifting shadows, and then, he released the ball of fire. As he did so, the rune faded into his skin, gone like it had come.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Galacta Knight cursed as his wings shed their feathers. If he lost too much, he would no longer be able to fly in chase. Caldwell had flown his ship earlier than expected, if he had any hopes of catching Meta Knight, he _had _to catch that ship. They were connected by soul, and now he had to end that connection.

His wings kept beating, faster and faster, with more feathers falling with the degree of how he beat his wings. He needed to fly much more often, that way this wouldn't happen as often as it seemed to. The ship kept getting farther away, he had to use the special ability that was taught within Nightmare Industries, and later copied into Star Warrior training. He watched as his wings changed to dark blue, and he shot off straight after the star ship. He took no notice of the cloaking ship, becoming hidden from view. He already knew where it lay, he would continue after it.

He watched as his skin changed opposite in tone, from a bright pink to a dark blue. The negative was a minor setback, but it went away after a short while. Although, changing color when activating that small hidden piece of training did have it's perks. It allowed him to use Twin Tornado, go in-human speeds, and altogether improve his stamina. So, more or less, his musings proved that the improvements outweighed the disadvantages.

He knew the ship would be directly in front of him. Meta Knight would be _his, _and now he didn't have the Rune Caster to defend him. Oh no, he'd felt the Amasi's light dim and finally disappear altogether due to his sensitive energy sensing sixth sense. In other words, he was gone-for good. And while he was sorrowed by his friends passing, it suited his plans, and thus he was glad for it. After all, the Amasi Warrior had been a hindrance for all the time he'd known and been in contact with Meta Knight. Constantly thwarting his plans, masking the yellow-eyed Knight's presence, weakening Galacta himself, and overall making life difficult. No, he was glad the Amasi was dead, it was much, much better.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

'_Ah, more blood for me to relinquish. Of course, there will be some...difficulties in keeping my identity unknown, but that can be easily dealt with...'_

'And yet you borrow _my _power _Israphael? _Honestly, you are a weak imitation of-'

'_The Beast of Mirrors, I know. Rephaim, I know that I am a mere replica of you, but at King Nightmare's current state, well it was the best soul replacement he could manage. Jeez, I want my old life back as well...'_

'Heh, you're the one who's the _Soul-Sharer_, Israphael. There is no 'old life' for you anymore. People like you exist everywhere, with a weak enough soul to have to leach off of someone else just to breathe, pathetic.'

The man in the clouds, now known as Israphael, growled at the insult. It was true, he was a soul-sharer-one with a weak enough soul to be manipulated by Nightmare for a promise of a life of his own. So far, it didn't seem to have played in Israphael's favor. No, Nightmare received one of the best silent killers that could adapt to just about anything, and could revive the legendary 'Mirror Beast' in a different image. And what did Israphael get? A promise that had yet to be filled and a body that had yet to be created. But he was a fool, and as such, he would carry out his job and more.

He smirked, the stealth ship was heading straight for him-and so was his target.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Once she had been known as Eagle, in truth her name was Emmaline. And now, she was navigating through the dense clouds with narrowed eyes. Her mentor was missing, she had a panicking girl on board, Meta Knight was no where to be found, Stranger had taken her mentor, and to top that all off there was a hulking cloud right in her path of flight.

"FUMU would you _please. _Stop. Yelling. I so do not need to hear that right now. look, go...tidy up the rooms or something, Nova knows how much Caldwell cleans. It would really help me out!"

"...Y-yeah, I can do that...sorry, Eagle..." the young girl stammered.

"Look, for the last time it's Emmaline. That old...-eh, he's just stuck on military ways, honestly," she reassured the youth, mentally relieved when Fumu went to perform her given task. Once Fumu had disappeared from the deck, (she had placed the ship on auto-pilot to be able to check on the passengers) Emmaline slid her hands up behind her mask to gently rub her temples.

'_You know Emmaline, you honestly don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself, now I need to clean your wounds-you won't punch me again, will you?'_

_She had laughed and then replied,'Well you never know, why'd you save me, Captain of the elite?'_

_He'd paused for a minute, seeming to carefully choose his words,'Because, Emmaline, I can't let you die for no apparent reason. And well...-'he'd cut off as his eyes widened and he fell into one of his famed visions._

Emmaline stopped abruptly, of all the things to come, why that memory? Why the memory when they had first met? It had long since been buried, possibly never to be seen again.

'_Remember Emmaline. With beginnings comes endings. With the beginning of your training, you agreed to be the reason for some-one's end. And yet, you are also a beginning to people you have freed with an end, keep that in mind-you may come to realize how much you'll need it in the future.'_

She had also forgotten about that memory- beginnings and ends? Nothing made sense anymore, not even her old mentors words. Although, thinking back on it- his words of 'wisdom' never had made sense. She shrugged off the matter of visiting memories, her feet moving of their own accord until she was back in the cockpit-back in control. Her Master was fine, he always was, at least, she hoped so.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Green tinted his vision, glowing at the edges. This meant nothing to him, that color was his life-his destiny. It was the only way he _could _live now, the way he was expected to. His heart beat painfully within his chest, reminding him of it's unnatural place and position. Too bad that that was the only way it beat, painfully. His eyes swiveled around to the mass of black, smoking, charred tree limbs. He had been waiting patiently for orders when a ball of fire had begun to creep toward him. He knew that Amasi Warrior's could perform small acts of the unordinary, but that particular Amasi was mostly a defense and healer-and great balls of fire were completely out of any Amasi's league. No, this had been something different, something worse.

He looked over too his partner, a young shadow-shade by the name of Anonymous. He exhaled when he found that his partner was unscathed and unfazed. After all, without the help of Anonymous, he wouldn't be able to experience the freedom he was enjoying. Had it not been for the Ninja, the hummingbird blade never would've reached his skin.

He relished in his new found freedom, all he had to do was listen to Shadox. It was. . .strange to feel so elated after watching his former mentor commit suicide by means of flames. He realized dully that two factions of his mind were at war with one another, one telling him to relish the feeling and perform his duties, the other wanting only to see Caldwell to move-and kill the man who gave him such freedom.

It was because his mind was fighting a stand-still battle that he ordered Anonymous to scout ahead of him. Once the Shadow-Shade had disappeared into nothingness, He walked over and picked up something that had fallen on the ground in the course of the fire being strewn across the clearing. He closed his eyes as the small object came into focus, mentally cursing his luck. In his hands he held a treasured relic of his former mentor, Caldwell's small, black pendant. Caldwell had used it to help focus his psychic energy and prowess, unlike the Amasi gems-psychics could only use a rare stone found on the planet known as Meron.

He remembered, a long time ago Caldwell had been sent to the far off planet of Meron to scout out the area and report back with intelligence on the natives. He had been gone for a grand total of twenty-six years, returning with a wealth of information and scars. '_He must have nabbed one when he was there."_It all made sense that Caldwell would have, after all without it, psychics life force drained with every use of their natural abilities.

It didn't matter now, Caldwell was dead and no one could change that. The man he'd secretly called father all these years had taught him in vain. Sure, it might have looked like it was going well for a while, but the truth remained-he would remain Shadox's puppet, he was Faceless now.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Are you sure you should be attempting that? While I do respect Caldwell's judgements...don't you think this is risky?"Meta Knight studied the young apprentice skeptically. Why she was trying to prepare a meal and drive a ship was beyond him, but the way the ship rocked violently from side to side was beginning to trouble his restless mind.

"Why does he have to make it look so easy? I'm fine, Metty Knight-o, no worries-honestly. Now the recipe says...no, that can't be right...man he's _got _to stop writing in the margins of our cookbooks..." Emmaline, or Eagle, responded. She studied the cookbook furiously, her ice colored skin flushed from whatever it was she was pondering. It would seem as though she had left her heavy metal helmet in her room, as he could find it nowhere in sight.

"Emmaline, don't you realize that Sir Caldwell has nearly endless amounts of concentration? Maybe I should take over cooking for now."

"No! I can do it, how many times do I have to tell you? _Sir _Caldwell always does it like this, and I am no different. Might I point out to you that this ship is still in the air? As you can perfectly well tell, I am a capable at multitasking. Now please, let me cook or I will sink this ship."

Seeing that he was getting nowhere, Meta Knight inwardly sighed. Caldwell always had to choose the difficult apprentices. He proceeded to walk out the small cockpit, pausing outside to re-adjust his mask. Normally he would've flown down to try and find the two Wanderers, but his cape was still tattered hence his wings would be useless. So he busied himself carefully sewing his cape, knowing that this would greatly reduce the time it would take his wings to heal.

_Clunk, clunk, clank._

The sides of his vision tinted red as he scanned the area around him. Nothing, no one was near. But the sounds continued, as did the small barely noticeable sounds of wings folding and stretching back out. Someone was on the ship, just arrived by the sound of things. Whoever it was, they carried a weapon, and were the same military issued boots he did. Could it have been a Star Warrior? No...not many had chosen to wear the heavy metal boots, they were being attacked by an enemy.

Meta Knight slid along the edge of a wall, peering around the corner and finding nothing. So they were on a different part of the ship, were they? He froze when the edge of a cool blade touched the edges of his cape, where when pulled out, the base of his wings would be.

"Come and fight me, bearer of my soul," Galacta Knight hissed into the other Knight's ear.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"_Let the Games, begin," _Nightmare's voice reverberated throughout his base and into the coliseum.

For Sword, Blade, Emit and Thorn, this claim was full of dread, for the others it was full of dark curiosity. They knew not what lay ahead, but they knew it would be dreadful.

They were dragged into different rooms, given a weapon, and found themselves within a massive arena. Cheers and boos came from the writhing crowd of demon beasts within the safety of the stands. The arena seemed to be split into varying climates and environments, each with a contestant hidden within.

In the Games, the contestants would battle for the keeping of their souls and secrets. Should you lose against facing your opponent, you would lose your soul and your secrets would reveal themselves to the victor. Of course, that wasn't the end to it. Should you win you were branded with a mark, a mark that would make Nightmare the one who pulled the strings behind your actions. If you could, people who were forced to endure this torture usually ended in suicide. Giving up your soul was unbearably painful, and you were to spend the rest of your life in eternal solitude, watching the lives of others as they played out-never to live yours again.

To make things more difficult, you were either facing a friend, demon beast, illusion, or a manifestation of your fears. You could never tell which was which, but to survive, you had to attack whomever you came across. Nightmare(or the creator of this story) had the mercy to pair people up, and those pairings almost never worked. It was time for their dooms to unfold in front of them, the Games had officially begun.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**Well, this chapter is two pages longer than the last, so forgive me for the late update. **

**Questions? Comments? Won't know unless you tell me! :P**

**For those of you who are confused, Aura and Rune casters are my creation and not Sweey's. Rune casting is a rare art that few can control or contain. It requires the user to draw a rune in blood over a vein or artery(hence the reason Caldwell drew it on his wrist), but they can rarely find the strength to use them. Even with the special stone from Meron, it still costs life energy from the Caster.**

**Meron is my Planet, from a story I plan on writing. In it, Caldwell is a major character who is the Captain of an elite alien squad. Yes I have been putting elements from that story in here, Why? Well to see how they are accepted and to get a better feel for them.**

**I hope you enjoyed, and if you didn't, I hope you can find something that you can enjoy.**


	13. Aura Eagle

**Updates will hopefully be getting more frequent when school starts. However, I am also writing the first draft of my novel, which is the first in a trilogy. Just so you know, this chapter WILL be switching to the 'Games' a lot more often throughout the chapter. Thanks!**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

_Drip...drip-drip...drip...splash, splash, splosh, splash_, ..._splosh!_

Something warm ran down his forehead, following his jaw line. When he opened his eyes, the world blurred and danced tauntingly. He couldn't focus properly...at least, he hoped that was what it was. Throbbing pain in his abdomen told him that he'd survived, but as he'd suspected, a victim to internal bleeding. He needed to treat it, his mind screamed at him to do so, but as he looked to his thoughts, he found them like the world, blurred and unfocused.

He felt a cool substance glide over the left side of his face when he placed his head back down. He could already feel the pressure on his neck lessening. Water splashed into the room he was in, mixing with red to form a dark colored swirl. The swirl intrigued him, he'd never seen colors move like that...it was...beautiful to look at. He found his blurred vision traveling upward, to the person who had caused the unnatural swirl to occur. His royal purple gaze met glowing green and another purple eyed one. He didn't care, two people or one, they looked the same to his view on the world at the moment.

"Anonymous, his wounds need dressed. He has a gash on his head, and probably other injuries that we cannot see. He seems not to be moving, so this shall be...different," Green eyes said to his partner, pulling a hood up to shadow his gaze.

The one eyed man responded with a simple shake of his head before he sunk into the floor, color and light disappearing from his form all together. Then, he appeared on the other side of the room, away from Green eyes, close to the other man on the floor. Anonymous checked the mans airways and pulse, before opening the door for his companion. Although the man was breathing shallowly, he would live, so long as they performed surgery on the affected area.

Anonymous pulled out a small scalpel, nodding to his companion as he did so.

"Where does it hurt?" The one with the cloak asked the bleeding man. Using that kind of rune casting might have caused internal bleeding, but then it might not have.

"...lower...back...hurts.." It was hard to speak, he had to form his words fairly carefully to get them sounding right.

Anonymous gestured to the injured mans abdomen, silently communicating the fact that Caldwell had abdominal bleeding.  
He watched as the green eyed one slowly pulled a vial of...something from his cloak.

"Anonymous, tilt his head back." The man known as Anonymous did as he was told, tilting their captive's head back slightly.

Faceless uncorked the vial, letting the liquid drain into the captives mouth. Afterwards, he swiftly placed his hand over the captives mouth and nose, forcing him to swallow the liquid.

"I apologize, Captain Erasmus of the Blue Moon," Faceless turned away, so as to not see Anonymous perform the surgery. So Anonymous would not see the tears that leaked from his eyes. So his former master could and would not recognize what his student had become.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Israphael sighed from his almost non-existent perch in the clouds. Another interference to his dream of having a body to call his own. More blood he did not want to have spilled, more innocent lives lost, and he was a mere puppet to it all. Rephaim could control his every move, forcing him to act like the true Beast of Mirrors.

Israphael shook his head free of those depressing thoughts, knowing they would do him no good. Even if innocent people got in the way, most likely getting their souls cycled in the process, he still had a job to perform. Of course, as his actions were not always his own, the soul-sharer would simply be a bystander to the unnecessary gore and violence.

As he sighed once again, he allowed the true Beast of Mirrors to take over. After all, he was only here because Nightmare needed a soul transferred to the recently deceased Mirror Beast. He hoped that it would only be a small matter of time before his mission was over, his duties done. He hoped so with all of his being that it would end sooner than expected. He didn't want more blood shed for the cause of a dream that may not even be fulfilled.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The games had begun, The doors slowly opened, exposing those who were to participate in the ghastly arena. Sir Anduin Isan Thorn grimaced at the small, rusty dagger he'd been given in place of his trusty spear. He'd also been given robes identical to the ones every other creature would be wearing. It would be difficult to tell whom you were fighting, even without the illusions, betrayals, and the monsters that were let out during night time to try and snatch a few unlucky stragglers.

Glancing up at the sky, he decided it would be best to either find shelter or make one. He had not much daylight left, so he settled on a small lean-to, it was the only thing he had.

He woke in mid-night to hear screams of terror and pain and knew that the beasts were loose within the arena. He could do nothing but keep his head high, shoulders square, and hope that his young shadow would be alright.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Emmaline swerved, the fog just had to keep thickening, didn't it? The plane rocked gently back into place, swaying with her uneven jerks on the wheel.

"What is going _on_ to make such a fog? And where the heck is Meta Knight!" She seethed to no one in particular, imagining her mentor's laughing face beside her. For a minute, she almost forgot that he was gone, swept away like it was nothing. She bit back the tears that came with the thought that she may never see him again. Even though he was a strong Ivoian, he'd been a mentor to Stranger-one of the best Wanderer's around. She didn't think he'd be able to survive, especially with his Aura so low. She doubted that he'd be able to heal himself, at least, in his normal means.

She'd have to face it, he was gone, Meta was busy with something, and Fumu was no help whatsoever. She was alone in this mess, alone and afraid. Sighing, Emmaline simply ran a hand over the hilt of her Star Striker blade. A relic from her late mother, it was the most comfort she had at the moment.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The man in the cell slowly opened his eyes, eyeing the small, almost delicate, stitches on his abdomen. When had that happened? Trying to not sit up too fast, the man gripped the side of the prison wall to lean against. Slowly, information made its way back to his dazed mind. His name was Seffali Caldwell Erasmus of the fifth guard. He was an accomplished swordsman and a Rune-caster with Aura. A black stone...he owned a special black stone but where had it gone? More memories flooded his mind, all at once he saw the day he'd left his father's house, the day he became a Wanderer, the long process to be rouged, Meron, Emmaline, Stranger-he saw it all. Everything from the day he could remember...it all came. Even the buried memory of his mother, killed by Wolf Wraths flames-a death worthy to the Erasmus title.

Slowly, he managed to stand, though it nearly killed the veteran warrior. He guessed that more blood than originally thought had been lost from his wounds. Trying not to curse, he limped over to where his cloak, stripped of anything useful, lay. Of course he'd injured his bad leg, it was just his luck to do something foolish such as that. As he slid his cloak on, a small piece of parchment tumbled out of one of the sleeves and fluttered onto the floor. Caldwell simply glanced down at the small scrap in minor disappointment. It had landed word side down, and bending to get it might be too much for his already screaming leg. Sighing, he slowly lowered himself to the ground, his leg almost making him cry out in pain.

Upon the scrap were two words-_I apologize,_ which confused Caldwell more than anything. Why was someone apologizing, for no reason that he could decipher nonetheless. Glancing back down at the scrap, he placed it in one of the many hidden pockets of his cloak. It may come in handy later, he decided. That, or he could search for hidden meanings or code.

He glanced around his surroundings once more, knowing that it could possibly save his life. The cell in which he was contained wall's were bloody and charred. Shackles were hung against the wall, and he knew that they'd been used before. He was positioned in a hall so dark that he could not see if there were inhabitants across from him. The place smalled foul, rank with odor from dead or decaying bodies. A faint _drip-drip_ sound could be heard somewhere off to his right, echoing faintly off the walls. Rust was smelled, around the bend, and he knew that the cell there had not been used for a while.

When moving closer to the metal structure that surrounded the cell, he felt an uncomfortable prickling on his ankle-prickling that meant he was losing Aura. Moving as quickly as he could on his injured leg, Caldwell the Shadow got out of the range of the Aura drain.

"Tch, they took extra caution. Well, I won't be making a move until I have suitable Aura." Sighing, he pressed a bare hand to his wrist, feeling for the Aura flow. The Aura he'd managed to build up was diminished from his system, leaving him feeling ready to pass out.

His eyes already closed, Seffali the Shadow slid against the wall, his mind going blank.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The sword known throughout the Galaxy slid out of its sheathe as its wielder slid backward, in a stance of both offense and defense. Galaxia felt its leader unfurl his wings, and knew that it was time to slay. Galaxia silently sent a thought to its master, knowing that he would reply with his own thoughts.

'_Don't worry, we shall fight-together.'_ As suspected, his wielder had sent the message with a calm tone. The legendary blade knew that his master would never speak his mind to a seemingly inanimate object, but it still cut through the blade deeply.

Galaxia let a small hum out in response to letting his wielder use its energy. It felt the slight aftershock that came after lending the knight too much or too little energy for him to expel at an enemy. It knew that it had lent far too much energy when his master tried to draw more. It pained the sword, but it let its master take more, enough for a sword beam. Knowing that another sword beam might impale it for a long while, the blade focused a slither energy into forming a coherent thought for its master to view, knowing that he would heed for the time-being.

Galaxia let a whistle one more escape its non-existent lips as it was swung downward, relishing when it met flesh. It would only be a matter of time before the assailant was to give up, fights were always about this long anyways.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Blade struggled out of the grasp of a Demon Beast, using the whip to lash across the beasts forehead, effectively gaining her time. Although, not enough, as the beast managed to slash her across the shoulder before bounding away. A thick red line appeared where the beast had maimed her, seeping its color into the fabric and slowly spreading. Grimacing, Blade tried to staunch the flow only to find that copper liquid kept seeping from the gash. She knew that this would happen, but so early on in the Games had not been expected.

Stumbling, Blade made her way back to her make-shift camp, awaiting morning's light.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Faceless stared at the broken mirror, blood still leaking from his gloved hand. A figure that was not him stood where his reflection should be. The man that mirrored him had his arms crossed over his chest, a hood covering the green eyes that Faceless took pride in. Even though the glass was shattered, it was evident that the reflection would not go away.

"What do you want, Stranger?" While Faceless was the different identity of the man, they were opposites to the extreme. Faceless took relish in killing, while Stranger avoided the action as much as possible. While Faceless wore his hood down, Stranger always wore it up, unless he was sleeping. Even though Faceless wore a mask, Stranger still wouldn't show his face, his mind always worrying about those he called 'friend'.

"What I want, Faceless, is harming nor killing acquaintances of mine," The voice seemed to come out of the mirror itself, but Faceless knew that it was within his own mind the voice reverberated.

"Impostor, the day that wish shall be granted shall be the day I die. Until then, you shall deal with maiming on my part while I deal with you on the other. So I say that an assassin will be an assassin, and you cannot control me as you've not the energy," Faceless replied as he waltzed out of the room and into the hall. After all, Shadox had another for his blades and arrows to shred and tear. At that thought, a smile graced faintly at the edges of his lips underneath his mask.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Israphael, it is time. Now your body shall be used as a puppets once more, I must thank you for falling for 'King' Nightmares trap so easily. Honestly, I couldn't be doing this without you," Rephaim sneered. A dream shattered was a dream best left untouched, but without that dream none would he, readjusted the mask that Israphael had taken to wearing. It was his time to shine, and dims others light.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Galacta Knight knew that he'd have to staunch the blood flow from where the blade had struck his shoulder. Right now, however, he did not have the necessary time to apply pressure to the wound. As he readjusted his footing, his lance lashed out in parry of the golden sword. This was life or death now, though whose life would be relinquished was sheltered along a blurry line. The bloody duel was to continue, whether or not he wanted it to.

Crimson stained the metal floor, sparks flew as the two blades crashed against each other. Both sets of heavy metal boots clanged and scuffed, scrabbling for the better purchase. Dark red and blue blurs were the only things to be seen by outsiders, nothing else entered the fight. Feathers and scales were flung around the make shift arena, and yet still the blades swung. Light after light exited both blades, colliding with one another to make an even more catastrophic explosion.

The dark red Knight quickly dodged to the side, barely glancing at the swords tip. Using his shield, he swung the sword away, bringing his own lance to his opponents chest, right below the mask. He watched through narrowed eyes as the other Knight unleashed a sword beam, sending Galacta's shield skittering across the field. Glancing down at his lance, he knew that he would not be able to finish charging a sword beam before Meta would strike next. As Galaxia came down toward him, he brought up his gloved hand to block the blow.

Blood splattered against his mask, staining it scarlet. Momentarily forgetting that he was in battle, Galacta faltered the sword beam charge, rendering it a dud. Blue tinted his vision as he slashed his lance in a diagonal cut, canceling the failed beam. That move also left him open for a counter attack, he'd forgot to factor in that his shield was no longer in his grasp, and for that he found a new gash to add to his growing collection. Through blue-tinted eyes, he conjured the Twin Tornado and sent it as his will commanded.

The ship then spiraled out of control, red fog leaking from the engine. He watched as his tornadoes turned from a raging wind into a few wisps, then into nothing. The red fog started to close in, congealing into a thick cloud and darkening around the edges of his vision. Both Knights faced each other before pressing their backs together, a momentary alliance formed. Galacta Knight slowly shifted his gaze from one end of his vision to the other.

"I'm not seeing much on my side, what about you?"He asked Meta Knight.

"Nothing is here either."

Galacta felt the comforting grip of his lance as his hand tightened around it. Slowly, he brought his other hand to his side, witch was quickly staining scarlet. The true enemy was no where to be seen, and by the look of the fog, Galacta guessed that that was their goal.  
_Thunk!_

The sudden sound brought Galacta out of his reverie, the thick fog swelling around the two knights. He spun, his lance held at the ready. Whoever was here, they controlled the fog, and it seemed that they wouldn't be letting up anytime soon. He knew that he need not look behind him knowing that Meta Knight was battle ready as well.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Edge looked up toward the sky, noting the light orange tinge growing on the horizon. He thanked the creator that it was turning dawn, the monsters had been chasing him all night. He pressed his hand to his ribs, knowing that at least one would be broken. He would have to find some sort of bandage to wrap around it, else breathing would remain difficult. He'd also have to lay on the broken side, at least, that was what he'd been taught.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Wake him, Faceless. I have much plans for the Shadow, I don't need any complications,"Shadox Verixon glanced down at his puppet, knowing that the poison in his system would force him to obey.

Shadox watched as Faceless roughly shoved Shadow awake, kicking him in the ribs as he went.

The Shadow answered this rude awakening with a stormy glare, his purple eyes almost black. White streaked his formerly red-blond hair, and his face was set in gaunt lines. Shadows crept from around his eyes, showing just how little true sleep the man had received. Rough stubble lined his chin, scattered with the white-grey of his hair. Obviously, that stone had helped him leech lost life from things around him, for even with it, it was in his Aura's nature to sap the users life. Now, Caldwell looked his ninety-two thousand years, which was just past the mid-life of most Star Warriors.

"Alright, I'm awake, Shadox, now kindly give me back the stone," instead of the smooth, flowing notes Shadows speech was normally delivered in, these fell flat. His voice reflected the shadows underneath the man's eyes, though barely.

"I do not believe that to be possible. Now, if you would just-"

"I will not cooperate unless I have the stone, and Stranger leaves, Shadox." Upon hearing those words, Faceless turned to his master, his green eyes furrowed.

"Very well. Faceless!" He barked,"Go to the viewing room, and bring the stone back when you come," Shadox' voice came out like ice, commanding immediate attention. Faceless left to do as he was told, glancing back at Caldwell before he left.  
Unknown to Shadox, Faceless found Strangers presence within him to begin to take form, dimming the dark green haze around his eyes until it was hardly there. Screams of pain echoed behind him, as well as cold laughter. Faceless had to suppress a faint smile as more screams followed. Others pain was well deserved to whoever put it on themselves to distribute it. As long as it was no longer him, it was amusing.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Caldwell lay panting as the whip crashed down again and again. His back seared and burned from where it had met his skin, and he knew that it would continue. Resistance would be futile in this state, he would have to wait it out, and hope that Stranger could and would not be able to view this.

Fire lashed across his back once more, the effect only amplified by the echo of the walls. Heat scorched in thick, bloody lines. His torturer made no sound, aside from a small grunt as he brought the whip down once more. Battle cries, blood stained armour, ashen ground and faces to match. Disease, pain, killing, slashing, it all came back to him. Just like then, he was the only one he could rely on, and just like then, fear burrowed in his chest, resting within his heart. He was alone.

Emptiness filled him, hollowed him, forced his mind blank. When the whip crashed down on him again, he did not hold back the tears that threatened to fall. He did not hold back the scream that burst from his lips. He allowed his eyes to close, chest heaving, pained gasps erupting from his throat. He was not giving in. And even as he thought it, he knew he was, and he knew that they had finally broken him.

He was never Caldwell...he had always been Seffali. He had never been kind, he was always the cold-blooded murderer who enjoyed the taste and scent of blood. He was the one who had helped to weaken the Warriors', weaken their resolve. It had been him, Seffali. He had the recycled soul of a true Warrior, and that was why he had joined, the soul had managed to make him _care _about the lowlifes he was bound to kill. Befriend them, enjoy their company, even fight _with _them and against his brethren. He'd never been suspected, just thought of as emotional and a pacifist.

He was feared, never loved, no one could ever love him. And he could never love in turn.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

_Nightmare had been having trouble with Star Warrior troops. They got cleverer by the day, always coming up with different strategies to wear him down and driving his own numbers down. His long curled fingers brushed against the parchment, the nails gouging in to the table beneath. His first creation, commonly called Customer Service, glanced up from his own report, his brow arching slightly from behind the glasses that were his eyes. _

"_Yes, Service?"_

"_Nothing, my lord. I am simply wondering when my Wife will be...stabilized," His tone had dropped at the end, and he leaned forward slightly, his brow furrowed._

"_Ah, her formula will stabilize within the month, Customer,"He would never see through the lie,"In the meantime...how are the soldiers coming along?" Nightmare inquired, already knowing the answer._

"_We have no new beasts ready from the solution. However, we can have soldiers ready by the moon's light, by the end of this month-"_

"_Not soon enough. Show me the prisoners of war, Now!" He watched in mild satisfaction as Service hurried to do his master's bidding. Soon, bloodied and beaten men shuffled through the wide double doors, their feet and arms shackled together. All were different races, some Ivoian, some Elibian, some the round species of Cathican, and still more. Many looked defeated, empty. And others had triumph etched to the core of their beings, still others had the look of arrogance, confident that they would be rescued. He despised each and every one of them. _

_He brought his form out of his throne, examining the rugged line of the prisoners. He let his senses stretch out from him, trying to sense who would be the most useful as a Demon Beast. He stopped __in front of one, letting his hand caress the creatures jaw bone, drawing a shallow line of crimson. He knew that it would leave a scar, but he needed to know how the Ivoian would react. It was a test of sorts, a test where both failing and passing would be undesirable. _

_The Ivoian froze, his dark purple eyes drawing level with Nightmare's, unblinking. Although his hands were shackled, they shot straight up, in a normally devastating uppercut. Nightmare sidestepped, avoiding the blow by mere centimeters. He saw a flash of purple, and the man thrust his head upward, catching Nightmare in the chest. In a normal Ivoian, the blow would've connected with the jaw, possibly giving the victim whiplash, or worse. For Nightmare, it simply knocked the wind out of man then gave him a sly grin, stepping back into his place, the purple eyes never leaving Nightmare's._

"_I want that rebellious streak beaten out of him, Service. For now, he will do. We will also have to create more, but he will become the subject of many tests. Make him remember it," Nightmare beckoned them out of the room, watching as his servants unhooked the Ivoian from the rest, the grin slowly fading. Customer Service shoved him outside, toward the room that every prisoner wished to forget. He knew screams would echo in mere minutes, and he would be pleased by the sound._

_His arms were forced into the straps, binding and constricting his blood flow. He fought every bit of the way, not even caring that he was doing more harm to himself than would've been done had he stayed still and compliant. Finally, he was strapped down, the straps preventing him from struggling. He watched as the needle bit into his skin, felt the agony, felt the scream leave his lips. And his vision tunneled, leaving him cocooned in the dark._

"_Heh, so you've finally awoken..." Caldwell whipped his head around the room, as much as he could. He was alone._

"_Just step back, relax, go back to sleep. I won't care either way, you'll still lose your will to live, and then I will reign!"_

"_Who-who are you?" Caldwell asked the voice that resonated from all corners of the room._

"_That, you will have to find out for yourself. Just as I have learned that you were of a special unit in the Star Warriors. Infiltration suits you, huh? Don't worry, I'll crush it out of you. Soon, I'll become stronger, and you'll become weaker. I will draw from your life force. Already, I have cut five-thousand years off of your life. You won't live long, unless you get lucky. And then, then I will have dominance, and no one will know the difference. Because by that time, I will know you inside and out," The voice hissed into his ear. _

_The one who had strapped him in sauntered into the room once more, the syringe already prepared. It bit deeper than last time, the pain much more intense as well. The voice uttered a faded Yes, Yes! as more of the liquid was inserted into his veins. _

_%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%_  
Seffali woke with a start. He never dreamed of his creation, never, at least, not anymore. It had been drilled into him since he had been created that he was not to dwell on things that no longer affected him. Either way, he had business to attend to, now that he was free.

It would seem that someone had bound his wounds, even so, he was cautious adjusting his position. He allowed the tattered, blood-stained cloak to flutter to the floor, keeping his twin scimitars. He brought one to his neck, cutting the pendant from its chain. Weighing the stone his brow furrowed, Seffali brought his arm back throwing the stone with all his might against the wall. He watched as the stone split, the room looking brighter than it had before. The brightened colors followed him as he made his way out of the cell, heading to Shadox' quarters. He had much to discuss.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

It was a good thing that Galacta didn't have to look over his shoulder, for at that moment, a knife darted out of the fog, glinting an eerie green in the red tinted moonlight. Another quickly followed, resonating with a sharp metallic clang as Galaxia was thrust in a parry to the dagger. Galacta Knight could only fight with one arm, the other clutching at his side, and, of course, that left him the prime target to defend against attacks that left him winded. The attacker continued to dart in and out of the cover, unleashing fury upon them. Always he hid by his cover, but his attacks left gash and wound in its wake.

Galacta studied the patterns of the attacker, his mask becoming more red than silver. Meta Knight, on the other hand, was striking out just a second after the attacker did, never hitting his intended mark. He may be strong, but the knight didn't always think with his head, more often than not it was from his heart. While not a bad quality, it was something that required a bit of forethought. And that was why Meta Knight was the prime candidate to transfer his soul to. After all, Galacta only existed ever thousand years, and like a Phoenix, he had to die and be reborn again. It was part of a now, almost extinct race. He was the sole survivor.

Quickly, before he lost the rhythm of the offender's movements, Galacta struck out when he guessed the attacker would attack. "Got you,"He seethed. His lance made a sickening _slucksh_ as his lance pierced his target, driving it through the man's stomach. "Now, what do we have here?" Galacta asked. He watched as the man struggled, his hands scrabbling to keep a grip on the blood soaked weapon. They both knew that if Galacta were to thrust it forward, the man would face unbearable pain, and the wound would only open wider.

Galacta watched as Meta struck out again, before the younger knight realized that Galacta had caught the offender. He hid his embarrassment well, sheathing his sword to hide his emotion displaying eyes. Meta looked questioningly to Galacta, before gesturing for him to release the captive. After a minute, Galacta complied, letting the victim painfully slide down the edge of the lance. It was now that Galacta had time to study the man, that he realized that the mask he wore was split into two parts. One was pure white, sealed to the other black side. Each side had 'veins' running through, the dark sides veins were glowing an eerie white, the other side was blank. It was a strange piece of technology, one that even he could not figure out. He glanced down to see Meta Knight running checks and begin bandaging the wound.

He sighed, and began to clean his lance. For now, the threat was in too much pain to do anything, he might as well busy himself. He was halfway through cleaning his own blade when he remembered that he had his own wounds to tend. Or rather, the pain of said wounds could no longer be ignored.

_bang!_

The steel door of the _Scarlet Wolf _slammed on the side of the wall, the captain herself gracing them with her presence.

"What ,in the name of nova, _is going on?_ First fog covers my ship, then I hear a struggle, and now I come up here to see the entire deck covered in blood! And you!"Here she pointed directly at the masked captive, the white side now glowing,"What makes you think you can ambush my ship? Don't think I haven't forgotten about _you _yet_, _pinkie. Luckily for you, I am more focused on the one who endangered everyone on this ship! You ha-"

"Please forgive me, Captain...I had no choice. This body is only granted on an oath, and even then, it is not entirely mine. This mask represents who I am, one half of a soul. I did not mean to harm, I simply require the one whose native name is Seffali. Once I have him, I will leave you in peace...Although I cannot guarantee for the other half of this soul," The masked man weakly uttered.

"Seffa..." Emmaline's hand disappeared in a blur, hitting the masked man hard. The white side of his mask skittered across the floor, granting sparks where it hit. He quickly brought his hand to cover the revealed part of his face, blood trickling from the lower corner of his mouth. "What do you want with him! He's done nothing to you!" Her icy cheeks were flushed, her arm repositioned to hit the man again.

"Emmaline, please calm down! He is injured!" Meta Knight struggled to calm her down.

"I don't care, Meta Knight. I don't care anymore! He can go and die in a black hole for all I care!" She shouted.  
"My lady, please start from the beginning. We will never know unless you don't tell us," Galacta brought his lance to his side, showing submission and also hiding a bleeding wound. He bowed as low as he could, stopping when his wounds protested.

Emmaline faltered, before falling into a heap on the floor. Her shoulders shook with the effort of containing her emotions. Strangled cries left her lips, and her shuddering only seemed to increase. Galacta watched as her fingerless gloves turned a shade darker and stepped forward cautiously. Making no sound, he placed his hand-oh so gently-onto her shoulder, and began patting in a circular motion. He'd seen other Warriors do the same to frightened children, but he wasn't exactly sure that it worked work this time. The noises gradually died down, but the shuddering remained.

"A-alright...from the,"here she shuddered again,"_hic_ beginning..."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

He traveled the labyrinth, seeking for any way out. He'd been wandering like this for as long as Seffali had been in control. A breeze cooled his bare skin, and he felt himself longing for at least a weapon. Even a dagger would have been better than nothing in this world filled with monsters and the unknown. He skirted the edges of the corridors, not wanting to venture any deeper into the dark than he had to. Almost subconsciously, he tried to pull his cloak around his shoulders, only to realize that it too, was gone. If he could find a way out of the labyrinth, it would weaken Seffali enough for him to take over again. He hoped that he could find it.

The walls were slimy, slick and cool to the touch. The floors were the same as the walls. His bare feet hit it awkwardly, and he often had to struggle to simply stay upright. He had no idea where he was in the maze, there was nothing to mark rooms and hallways by. He touched the wall once more, and then made a mental note not to. His Aura had drained on contact, a noticeable amount. He felt the breeze rush by again, but this time it was closer-and warmer. He froze his body, breathing scarcely through his mouth. He closed his eyes and prayed for the best, hoping that whatever it was moved by and ignored him once he was out of its way.

He allowed his lids to half open, letting his lashes partially cover his now open eyes. He was greeted by a large lizard, that was covered in rock-like scales. Its beady black eyes swept over the area in a wide arc. Its tail swung from right to left, and its tongue darted from between its teeth. It let out a soft torrent of clicks, and then it moved on, its feet making only the slightest of sounds. He should have heard it...so how was it able to sneak up on him from behind? The question bounced off of his skull, returning with more intensity each time it came around. He struggled to place it into the back of his mind, so that he could think more clearly. He only resulted in making it bounce faster, and with even more intensity.

He let himself sink against the walls, let himself embrace the wonders of the subconscious mind. Even if he was a Wanderer, and was expected to find a way out of such situations, he simply knew that he had reached his limit. He could no longer think, he could no longer function. He was useless.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**I'm gonna cut it off here, about a page short. The important thing is, it is written. I hope you enjoyed!**


	14. Mirrorstone

**I type this with a fresh mind! Aw, screw it, no need to be poetic at the moment.**

Recap (as I'm sure most of you have forgotten):  
Meta and Galacta join forces  
Galacta captures Rephaim/Israphael  
Caldwell is Seffali  
Faceless is losing his hold on Stranger  
The games have started  
In the games are Emit, Edge, Thorn, Blade, Sword, Kirby and Bun (and I think I'm forgetting someone...)  
Caldwell is trapped while Seffali is in control

Oh and one more thing! If you want to write a story and not get yourself in a pickle, DON'T PUT ALL CONFLICT IN ONE CHAPTER! My...tip of the day.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Seffali strode through the hall, only making the occasional glance at the cells on either side of him. Screams and feral growls were all he heard, for he cared not about the monstrosities on the other side. He had a duty to perform. In a matter of minutes, he stood outside Shadox Verixen's quarters. Carefully, so as to not disturb anyone but the man inside, Seffali knocked at the door. A deep sound echoed throughout the chamber, so deep that he took a step back. He waited until Shadox himself opened the door and, when he did, slipped inside. ****

"You called, My lord?" He bowed deeply, ignoring the pain in his leg as he did so.****

His employer said nothing.****

"Ah...You do not trust that I am the one you wish to see. Should be simple to fix," He discarded the light and airy tone of his counterpart, replacing it with his own accented pitch. His voice was deeper and darker than Caldwell's, and had a thicker form of the accent. "How quaint it is that you don't trust the people you wish to see. And here I thought I was to be seeing one smart man today," He straightened from his position and slid one of his weapons out of its sheathe. He flicked the curved blade in the direction of Shadox, knowing that the other would catch it. "Here, my word that I am the only Seffali. My word that I have trapped Caldwell in the Endless Twilight. My word that you'll make this worthwhile." He strode past the man and sat into a chair, his feet already on the table.****

"Where is Nightmare's base located?" Ah...so the man _still _didn't trust him. ****

"It is in the Red Sands, hidden beneath the desert. The planet upon which it lies is the planet of Magmetess. I will not say the code for I am still loyal to Nightmare. I will tell you, however, that most Demon Beasts are made from captured Star Warriors. Nightmare has a solution that he injects into the new host and a Demon Beast flows into the weakened soul. Then, the soul strengthens, effectively keeping the Demon locked inside. Eventually, the Demon becomes the host soul, as it becomes stronger, and is able to easily wrench control from the Star Warrior. And, the best part of it all is the fact that they don't know it's happening. Need I say more?"****

Shadox allowed his canines to show, before he too sat down at the table and began to talk business with the Demon.****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

Emmaline started to tell the tale, starting from the beginning as she had been asked. "I _hic_f-found him on the verge of death...so I took him in. I brought him to the doctor and waited until his wounds were healed until I saw him again. When I did, he was barely able to talk and was still weak...weaker than he should've been...****

"_Are you the one who...," She grimaced as he winced in pain,"The one who brought me here?"_****

"_Yes, I am the one who brought you here...You were badly injured, Seffali..."_****

"_Ah...You saw the tags, I presume?"_****

"_Is your name not Seffali, Star Warrior?" She asked, taking the time to re-wrap his wounds._****

"_By the name of Nova, Yes! I just didn't think you could read the print, it is awfully small. If you don't mind me asking...Where was I found?"_****

"_Alright...Seffali...You were found near the Crystal of Turbulence," When she saw his carefully hidden confusion, she elaborated,"To us Elibians, it represents the God of Destruction and injured souls," Emmaline finished, looking to the man's purple eyes._****

"_Wait a minute..." She waited as a puzzled expression overcame his features, his brow furrowing and his fingers idly flicking a small flame to life. She wanted to cry out, to voice her question on his ability to conjure the flame, but she kept quiet. After all, if he had wanted, he probably could dispatch of her in a heartbeat."Miss...What is the status of the War we are currently fighting?"_****

"_We lost, Seffali. The Star Warrior's were mostly captured or killed. We found a ruined ship near where we found you, but I don't think we can patch it up. To be honest sir-"_****

"_Please, I am just as common a man as you are a women, I need no title. Seffali will do."_****

"_Okay...Seffali...To be honest we didn't think you would make it...You were hardly alive when we found you..."_****

"_Such is the way of a Warrior, Ms. Emmaline-"_****

"_H-how did you know my name?"_****

"_Er...You didn't tell me?" She was surprised when he cursed in Ivoian, softly of course, "Well...Guess I had to tell someone one of these days. I am an Aura Bearer."_****

"_An...Aura...Bearer? What do you mean? I thought they had gone to another galaxy!"_****

"_True...for some. Many just went into hiding. After all, we have quite the capabilities if we are up to it. However, those capabilities come with a price." Whenever she asked what that price was, he would change the topic. She found herself enjoying his company, even if he was accompanied by a book most of the time. However, tranquility never lasts long. _**  
****  
**_Seffali felt odd. It was as if he could never get enough sleep to refill his Aura. He borrowed text after text to try and find a solution, but none would spark his mind. The text had little information on Aura-__Bearers, as most _had_fled before information could be found. But, as far as he could tell, his Aura should have replenished by now. So...Why hadn't it?_**  
"**_I JUST DON'T KNOW!" He shouted, throwing his current book onto the ground. Then, he picked up the book and shelved it in its proper place. He limped out of the library, grabbing a cane on his way out. Maybe it was because of the guilt he was feeling? Maybe...but it didn't make sense. He'd been under stressful situations before, and his Aura had still replenished fine. Slower than usual, sure, but it had still replenished. He sighed before he repeated his earlier statement. "I just don't know..."_****

_Slowly, he limped to where he was staying until a new ship could be crafted. He'd learned to ignore the never ending cold of Elibus, but it still affected him more than the natives. He noted that he was one of the only ones wearing a cloak, the Elibians wearing what he normally would in summer. Most had learned his name, and he had learned theirs in turn. He heard soft footfalls behind him and knew that it would be the young one who had taken him to the town in the first place, Emmaline. _****

"_Please, join me, Ms. Emmaline, or do you plan to shadow my walk for all eternity?" Shadow...it was his Wandering name...but it was high time he found an apprentice of his own, found his own shadow. As soon as he thought this, a pain seared the lining of his skull. His vision darkened, splitting through the middle and showing him an image of himself within a stone cell. Just as soon as it happened, the image disappeared, leaving him panting as he struggled to regain footing. _What had that been?_As far as he had remembe_r_ed, that cell didn't exist. So why was an image of him being in such a cell occurring to him? Quickly he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts, allowing his attention be diverted to Emmaline._****

"_Hello, Seffali! The Elders have found something that might interest you, a scroll of-" She got no farther before he blacked out, hitting the icy ground with a dull 'thud'. _**  
****  
**_He was falling. Falling with no resistance. Memories flowed past him, memories he didn't even realize he had. His eyes snapped shut, and yet the memories still came. They penetrated his skull, opening old scars and wounds. He could feel liquid seeping from the scars. His heart felt heavy with each memory that passed, as most involved him slaughtering an enemy or a Warrior who had turned. He remembered his Wanderer training, he remembered helping to train a Wanderer known as Stranger. The memories stopped as he was plunged into liquid. He felt something watching him, something with a dark presence. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the red glare of another. The red-eyed one looked like him, but instead of going down, as he was, they were flowing upward. He watched as the doppleganger smirked, showing pointed teeth. _****

"_Goodbye, host. Let's see what happens when I take your place, shall we?" His voice was cold. Seffali was helpless as the figure left, leaving him in the liquid where there was no air. He struggled, struggled to swim to the surface. He found that he could hardly move, and each time he tried, his Aura was sapped. His vision tunneled, and he found himself looking out of a window. Under normal circumstances, he knew that window would've been his eyes, but today he was looking through the Demons._****

**  
"**_Seffali! You're awake!" He heard Emmaline's voice as though it was through water, it was muddled and her words swelled together, washing over him in a wave of that same muddled detail. The demon smiled at her, using his own form._****

'_Emmaline! It's a trap! That is not me that has waken!' He screamed, screamed for her to realize-realize that the person wearing his face was not him- screamed for her to hear. But of course, she __could not hear him, she could not see the difference. Why would she? She was expecting nothing to be amiss, and so, to her, nothing was. To her, the Ivoian that had waken was _him _and nothing more. He silenced his useless words, and did the only thing he could, he listened._****

"_Ah...that was quite a fall I took, wasn't it, Ms. Emmaline?" The impostor laughed lightly, mimicking the tone Seffali normally took, albeit, deeper and with a thicker accent. _****

"_Yes, Seffali, it was. Are you sure you feel alright?"_****

"_I feel like Nova did when he crashed, but I'll live. After all, I've been in worse situations. You were talking about the Elders before I took a leap of faith?" Although the tone was light, Seffali could tell that there was a hint of malice laced beneath the words. The demon was planning something, something that would inflict pain on its host._****

"_That! I almost forgot about it! The Elders found a scroll on Aura manipulation..." He couldn't let the demon read it, for, if the demon did, it would allow it to have an edge in taking over Seffali once more, a catastrophic edge. Quickly, he resumed to listening._****

"_There's a catch though..."_****

"_Oh...? And why would they have need to hold a document from its rightful heir?" The tone was darker, more malice was seeping through._****

"_Well...Seffali...They need to make sure you can control your Aura first, and that you are in good physical condition after your crash. And they need to make sure you are an Aura-Bearer at all."_****

_He felt the malice that the demon held grow, grow until he could feel it working its way into his remaining Aura. It was then that he realized that the demon had much more Aura than it should have. Since he was the host, the demon should have only held up to a quarter of Seffali's Aura, but it held more than half. The demon had been sapping his Aura as fast as it had been replenishing, it explained why he didn't have much Aura. The malice began to take form, becoming an invisible fire around the impostor, the sparks that marked its skin taking color. The sparks also became agitated, although the demon managed to hide them underneath the clothing. _****

"_And what, might I ask, form of Aura spell need I cast?" The demon asked, the Aura swirling around him like a thick blanket. And all this time, Emmaline could not see how close she was to her doom. He couldn't let it happen, he couldn't let another who had helped him be slaughtered mercilessly!_**  
****  
**_He fought the hold on him, fought it knowing that if he let the demon continue its reign, most, if not all, of the villagers would be slaughtered, starting with Emmaline. He fought harder, enough so that he could move his fingers. Then his arms. Then his legs. He fought until he could move every part of his body, no matter the pain his bonds inflicted. He felt the demon try to shove him downward, try to use its borrowed Aura to erase Seffali from the realm altogether. But Seffali knew that the Aura was his, and it always had been. He wrenched control of most of it, watching as his vision expanded, and the watery hold dissolved. A sharp pain worked its way into his head, and then his eyes snapped open._****

_He was silent for a moment or two, and then, his voice barely above a whisper, he said,"Please, Emmaline...call me Caldwell from now on..." If the Demon would take his true name, it was time to take a new one for himself. He was to take on a new persona, he was to live with a demon. The fact __that the demon could take his Aura told him one thing, the demon had already gathered enough strength and would soon start to overpower his life force, his soul._****

_She looked at him quizzically, before telling him that a ship was ready._****

"I snuck on as a stowaway, and eventually Sef-Caldwell told me about the Demon and trained me...Seffali has escaped many times, but Caldwell was always able to suppress him. Although, now, with both Shadox and Nightmare's influence, I think he might've already succumbed... That is all the knowledge I was graced with..." She threw her hands up to her face and began to sob once more. ****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

Daylight. It was finally daylight. Thorn let the rays of the sun brush against his face, for one second his cares diminishing. Then, he was back to business. He would have to make a better shelter, find food, and, possibly, another weapon. Grimly, he hoped it wouldn't be from one of his friends. He decided that building a better shelter was to be higher on the list of things to do, seeing as it helped protect him from Demons' claws. Food could always wait. As for the weapon...he was decently equipped in the Amasi Art, and would be able to attack even without his stone. ****

Using the rusty dagger he had been given, Thorn was able to slowly cut down vines and weave them together. Eventually, he found thin, yet sturdy. branches that he also cut down. A shelter on the ground was far to dangerous, tonight he would sleep in the trees.****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

Anonymous sighed in a slight exhale of breath. He would need to find a way to free _two _people from Shadox's control now. And he would have to do it in such a way that Shadox didn't notice. He flicked a senbon into his target and smiled in grim satisfaction when it met its mark once more. Now...how to do it...If only he had Rioku to bounce his otherwise inexpressible ideas off of. But Rioku had to deal with something on his own, something that only he could deal with, apparently. Even if they were rivals, Anonymous still felt as if they were friends. And he knew that the shinobi felt the same way. But since the shinobi was not here, it would seem he would have to rely on his own wit and judgement, as he usually did. Sighing once more, he turned to pick up the needles that littered the training ground. ****

After all the senbon were collected and safely stored in their pouch, Anonymous sat in a meditative pose. He curled his fingers and, with each intake of breath, he slowly pushed against his stomach. His mentor had taught him this pose, even though Anonymous would've hardly needed it. He allowed his head to clear with each exhale, until he was left with a light headed feeling that told him most of the pressing thoughts had been dispelled. Ah, yes. He would be able to think much better now. Now...How to put forth his plan...****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

"_Faceless, for the last time I ask that you do not harm those that are...friends of mine."_****

"And why should I abide by your rules, Stranger? You are not in control, I am. I make the decisions right now."****

"_You won't be making the decisions for long. You are losing power, the poison is losing its hold on me."_****

Faceless merely turned and walked from the window. His counterpart was right, and, at that thought, Faceless' hands curled into fists. He knew that Stranger would also keep appearing, whether or not he agreed to the man's conditions. And so he ignored him. At least, he ignored him most times. When he didn't, he felt his hold over Stranger slip, ever so slightly, and his actions become able to be diverted slightly by Stranger as well. ****

With no falter in his stride, Faceless set off to find Shadox.****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

He was useless. No, not for the fact that he'd partially reached his limit, but for the reason that he had allowed himself to be overtaken by a sense of dread. That dread was what had made him useless, had made him waste a night in shivering cold, hoping for death. He had to think! Clear his mind and allow the thoughts to flow freely, no matter how desperate they might have seemed. It was something he had been trained to do as a Wanderer, and by life itself. Life...life was the best teacher anyone could afford, he reflected. Life had taught him how to live in his darkest hours, had taught him to trust only those who had shown they were trustworthy. ****

With slight effort, Caldwell the Shadow pushed himself into a standing position. His leg screamed in protest, screamed and was not heard. He would navigate the maze, he _could_find his way out of this mess. With that in mind, he set off once more. ****

The paths he took all seemed to be at a random choice, but it was not. For at every intersection, Caldwell would close his eyes and be assaulted with memories, _his_memories. He knew how they were to play out, and would simply follow the path that gave him the greatest connection to the memory. After all, when he only had one option the wisest choice was to take it. He still skirted the edges of the corridors, but he found that he wasn't doing it as much as he had been in the beginning. He would stray into the darkness, often finding hidden intersections he would not have found if he had been out of the shadows. ****

With every step, he found the next was harder to make. His feet dragged against the smooth floor, and he found it becoming more and more difficult to even shift them. With each step, his Aura drained slightly, his conscience whispered doubt into his mind, he saw the deaths that had been by his hands. The worst memories he had flamed to the surface, and he could not stop them from doing so. His father, the Lieutenant General of the Star Warrior army, beating him, his mother, and his sister. His plane as it crashed to the ground. Lashing out at Emmaline. Everything. Everything he wished to forget, everything he regretted, surfaced to the forefront of his mind, and he was forced to look at it again and again. ****

His shoulders shook, and soft gasps escaped the prison that was his mouth. His face became wet as he trudged on, his leg began to ache like it had when he had gotten the injury that had caused it. But he knew that if he stopped, he would never move again. He knew that he would break down, crack at last, if he allowed himself to rest. And he knew that Seffali would completely take over if he broke. Knew that he would have no hold on the Demon's actions if that happened. ****

And so, he trudged on.****

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%****

Israphael tended to his wounds, careful to not bring any more attention to himself than was needed. The woman was still emotional, and the two men were still with blood-lust, both at him and at each other. It would not do to sacrifice himself in a last ditch effort, only to find himself staring at a sword and the gun that the captain carried. No, it would not do at all to be foolish, he decided. ****

His free hand jerked as he accidentally brushed his wing, accidentally brought more pain onto himself. He hissed as fire danced through his nerves, searing all of the pain sensors. A cooling sensation crossed over the sensors, dulling the pain, but heightening his senses. The Demon within him had finally decided to step up, to give a helping hand. How quaint.****

Israphael froze. His Demon didn't use the word 'quaint'. No...Rephaim tended to mock, tease, and make his blood boil. And even if he did lend a hand in the healing process, it was normally only under a circumstance in which Israphael would die. The fact that the Demon had helped him so soon...Rephaim was expecting something. Something bad. And Israphael knew that if Rephaim was worried, the man who had the ability to show someone their true selves, he should be prepared. ****

Then, then he heard it. A faint sound, almost like that of a cicada, was coming near. Whoever it was, they were close, but not close enough to launch an attack. He had no more doubt in his mind that this person was the one who worried his demon. This person would be strong, most likely cunning, and would have a 'mirror' to their personality. They would house two different souls within the same body, effectively enabling Rephaim's ability. And, once that ability was activated, Rephaim took over, took over and fought both personalities at once. It was what had nicknamed his demon the 'Beast of Mirrors', after all. But to everyone without the ability, the 'Mirror' of the person would not be viewed, and they would expect to see, and would see, what the person told the person they were. For example, if a tree had a 'Mirror' and housed two souls, and it was approached by someone, they would only see the tree, not the Demon or alter ego hidden within. It was one of Nightmare's more...effective traps, he knew.****

After all, he had been victim to the very same trap. Only, instead of seeing what the Demon had projected itself as, he had seen his daughter. He had known that she had died two years previous, in fact, that was what had shattered his soul, and yet he had still believed it when the Demon had stated that it was Serenae, had believed that she was still alive. Now, as consequence, He was bound to Nightmare and had to share his soul with his Demon, Rephaim. Serenae would never cross into the land of the living, just as he would never be able to repair his damaged soul. They would be forever separated in two different worlds. He hadn't even had had the chance to say goodbye before she had passed.****

It was all the more reason to warn them of the evil to come. All the more reason why he should speak out. But, currently, he was gagged and bound loosely so that he could still tend to his wounds. The captain, Eagle Emmaline or something of that nature, had made sure of that. And she had also made sure that he was constantly being monitored by one of the knights. ****

He paused, forcing himself to remain calm. Then -slowly so as to not alert his 'guards'- his eyes trailed to the navy knight. A shadow, hazy at first, was just behind the knight. He knew that the shadow was not a shadow shade, nor was it just a trick on his eyes. He had found a mirrored image. An eye that mirrored the knight's own. Clearly, he could see the differences between the two. The shadow had red, glowing eyes, batlike wings, blood stained armor, and the mirror had the distinct feel of blood-lust about it. He felt a small pang in the back of his head, and he knew that he had had the ability active for far too long. As it wasn't originally Israphael's, he couldn't control it for long periods of time, just as Rephaim couldn't fly for long bouts. ****

'_You do realize what this means, do you not, Israphael?'_****

Israphael made an almost imperceptible nod, and tuned out the Demon's explanation on what it meant. The fact that he had been able to see the 'mirror' only made sense that he would now be able to see the true form through the eyes. After all, Rephaim's ability projected the true form over the soul, and the eyes _were _the gateways to that medium. He had no need to hear the demon, he had to think of a way of alerting the crew members without posing himself as the threat. But that would be near impossible in the state he was in, not without something drastic.****

And, of course, Rephaim was more than willing to oblige. ****

Slowly, Israphael sent his plan to the demon, and awaited the mans reply. Sure, they didn't always get along, but they were comrades, and they were comrades that were stuck together. He felt a slight tingle shoot down his arm and into his wing, before it disappeared and shot through once more. Two pulses. He let a grin spread across his masked features. The maiden had removed his gag a few minutes prior, and had added some salve onto his wounds. At the moment, he couldn't feel a thing. Perfect.****

He flexed his uninjured wing against the loosely bound rope, feeling as it loosened its hold farther. As he was part demon, his wings had somewhat of a barbed edge, made so that it was undetectable until the wings were upon you. His wing flexed once more, and once again, the rope loosened. One more twitch of his wing, and the rope was cut through. However, he fixed the barbs around the rope in such a way that it still looked as if he was tied. They wouldn't expect a thing. ****

Slowly, effortlessly, he removed a slim sword from its sheathe in between his shoulder blades. It was a saber, possibly the only weapon he could afford to carry without risking having too much weight on his wings. The saber was made of a metal that blended with its surroundings, so he wasn't too worried about it being seen. Then, with the same carefully practiced movements, he threw the saber across the room until it landed into the control panel. Until it landed in the small panel that helped to circulate the electricity throughout the ship. He smiled at the projected Mirror of the blue knight, and allowed Rephaim to take control.****

He had done so not a moment too soon. For, at that moment, two figures landed on the sinking ship. Those two figures, it seemed,were the cause of that cicada-like sound. They were the cause of Rephaims unease. Israphael smirked, if only they knew who they were dealing with.****

_That's one way of saying it, Israphael. Now, why don't you take the Mirrorstone and join me in showing these intruders why WE were the ones captured._****

Israphael sighed, and allowed his mind to sink into the Twilight. The Twilight was where any soul was sent when they were not in control, were dead, or were sleeping. It was essentially a realm in which the subconscious was dominant, and your fears, dreams, and goals were plastered for all to see. The Mirrorstone, however, was an entirely different matter. It only belonged in the Twilight of those who had a demon, or alter ego, and only to those who had come to terms with their demons, and lived in rough equality. Truth be told, it had been quite the shock when he had discovered it the first time. For the Mirrorstone, was not a stone, but a large, shimmering wall that the soul could step through and into the living world. It made a second form, and then the soul could control it.****

However, for the soul to inhabit the second form, they had to get permission from the demon or alter ego, nothing else. The demon could not ask the host to use the Mirrorstone, as that ruined the rules of the Twilight.****

Also, for Rephaim to be able to fight both sides of a soul at once, he had to force the Mirrorstone into anothers being, then quickly take it out. That forced both sides of the soul to fight at once, and tire out the body quicker. But neither soul knew that the other was out. And that always served to difficult things more.****

He allowed his being to slip through the Mirrorstone, and felt the wrench of his soul being placed into the second form. His vision tunneled, went black, before he could see once more. Rephaim stood beside him, the form that normally belonged to Israphael shifting and changing to a more demonic shape. The second form, the one in which Israphael was currently inhabiting, shifted into a humanoid with dark skin and wings. It was only by the way of the Mirrorstone that Israphael saw what he believed was his true form, what he would look like if he had a body.****

To others, Rephaim would look the same, as if nothing had transpired. As if he didn't have glowing blue eyes, claws, pointed teeth, or a different body shape. To them, he just looked like Israphael. And to them, Israphael wasn't there, the mirrored form was no where in sight. All they could see was a distorted wave of light, nothing more, nothing less. But that didn't matter. For, in the ability of the Mirrorstone, he had a body of his own. Even if he wasn't seen, he had a body.****

Then he felt the sensation as the Mirrorstone was ripped from his soul. He crippled, falling to the ground in a shaking heap. Tears sprang to his eyes, a fire danced through his being. Through his watered eyes, he watched as the air distorted around the blue knight, and one of the newcomers. He watched as two forms split, revealing two demons. Then he felt a soothing, cooling sensation and knew the Mirrorstone had been returned. The host soul could use it, but the Demonic soul controlled it, effectively limiting the abilities of each. And effectively creating a slight amount of harmony between the two. ****

_Done crippling in pain yet, Israphael?_****

"Only if the stars stop shining," he replied. Only Rephaim would hear him, and that was how it had always been. Israphael stood, straightening himself as he did so. It was time.

****_Thud!_****

_Thud! _****

She knew that sound. It was the exact same sound people made when they landed on the ship. That sound had been made moments before when the winged man had landed and had _attacked _the ship looking for Caldwell! Then she heard another sound. A soft beeping, toned to a blinking red light. Next to that light, there was a screen, and the screen showed what was wrong with the ship.

_**Energy supply halted**_

_**Evacuate ship**_

****She froze. Those words, they were things she had never wished to see. Words Caldwell had taught her wouldn't appear unless something was wrong. Really wrong. Words He had said would only lead to headaches, and a crash. In fact, he said those words had appeared before he had crashed onto Ellibus, and had gotten his limp. Those words, he said, had changed his life for the worse. ****

Over and over again, the words circled her head. _Evacuate ship, Evacuate ship, Halted, Energy, Ship, Evacuate, Evacuate, Evacuate._Her head was clouded, the words kept flying around, stirring more dust. Her vision swam before it was righted, righted as she stared at the monitor once more. ****

Right. She had to either evacuate the ship or figure out why the power source wasn't flowing properly anymore. Quickly, her mind raced through all the possible scenarios, discarding the ones that wouldn't have happened. Just as quickly, she resumed steering. Crashing or not, it was her job to keep the ship flying, and she would perform that job.

****Thorn grimaced as he heard yet another scream pierce the night sky. Only tonight, there had been at least seven he recalled, and even then, there were some who wouldn't have been able to scream or who had died instantly. And there would have been some who had been copied, and who were patrolling the night under the guise of another competitor. ****

He glanced at his shelter. Actually, all he could call it was a thin platform with a few large leaves in a makeshift tent above the ground. And even then, his makeshift tent was flimsy at best. At least it kept the rain off, and it kept him off of the ground, he thought. ****

A scream pierced the air, frighteningly close to him. He frowned as the scream was cut short, followed by a howl. He needed to find Edge, and soon.

******I'm gonna call it a day at this point. It's still 13 pages, so don't worry 'bout the length!******

**Alright, here's a brief explanation on both the Mirrorstone and the Realm of Twilight.******

**-So the Twilight Realm is where souls go if they're dead, asleep, or not in control. ******

**-The Twilight is a realm where the subconscious is the control and fears, dreams, and hopes are plastered for all to see. ******

**-The Mirrorstone is a liquid-like wall that only appears to Souls who have another soul within, and the two souls have a rough sense of equality. ******

**-Essentially the Mirrorstone is controlled by the Demon and is used by the Host soul, creating a further sense of harmony. ******

**-Now the Mirrorstone allows the Demon soul to become the host soul and the original host soul becomes a second form' and can fight alongside the demon******

**If you need further information (I know it's a different concept) Please PM me or send me a review with your questions and I'll try my best to answer them!******

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Alright. I don't really want to do this, seeing as how a lot of people enjoy this story, but I'm pulling the plug on it. **

**More or less.**

**This version of the story will no longer be updated, however, I will be reworking it and revamping it.**

**The newer version will _keep this title _(more or less)**

**It will also keep:**

_**My characters**_

_**Basic plotline (this is subject to change as I write)**_

_**Mirrorstone**_

_**Some of the backstory**_

**So, I hope to see you at the newer version, and if not, then I hope you continue to follow your own dreams!**


End file.
